Sakura Ai
by Raynebow-NinjaChick
Summary: Anime crossover one-shots involving Sakura Haruno. Feel free to suggest couples!
1. Cherry Blossoms

**Rayne Says: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR STARTING ANOTHER STORY!! I know I haven't updated Akatsuki Heartbreaker in forever, but I lost the written drafts for the next three chapters. I also know I haven't updated Reborn for a while, but I'm having writer's block. So here's a new series, however, it's a series of cross-over one shots involving Sakura and a character from a different anime show.**

**You can request couples from the following animes or mangas: Ouran High School Host Club (anime), Fruits Basket(anime), Fullmetal Alchemist (anime), Bleach, Vampire Knight (manga), and Death Note. Any couple is welcome (only heterosexual couples though). So here's chapter one!**

* * *

**Cherry Blossoms**

_ByakuyaXSakura_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

I had seen the first release of his zanpaktou during a training exercise as he was facing Lieutenant Abarai. At the mere mention of the sword's release a sudden shiver had passed down my spine. It was a shiver of longing, which at the moment I didn't understand.

Needless to say, he had defeated Lieutenant Abarai.

It had been an example of the training we were to be doing that day. Zanpaktou training was something that could be done alone, but blossomed with a partner. I already had a first release, although I rarely used it. My sword, Kurohime, was what I would call lovely. The blade of the sword wasn't silver like most; instead it was pure white. The guard was black with small pink gems encrusted in it. It was about a yard in length. I loved my sword.

I was paired with the eighth seat of our squad. His name was Yuta, and I despised him with all my being. Why? Because he kept making passes at me and almost _raped _me one night after too many drinks. He. Was. Going. To. Die.

"Hey Princess, don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

"Don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl," I said.

"I wouldn't want to ruin your pretty face," he answered.

"Let's make a bet."

"Oh?"

"If I win, you'll quit flirting with me."

"And I get a kiss if I win."

I sighed but said, "Fine."

We shook hands and quickly distanced ourselves from each other. He foolishly snatched his zanpaktou out of the sheath and ran toward me. I sidestepped him, holding my foot out, and he tripped. Muttering curses under his breath, he stood up, and threw a fist at my face. I caught it and twisted it easily. It was simple for me to enhance my strength using my reiatsu. I was about to break his arm when Yuta's elbow landed a painful hit to my gut. All of the breath came out of my lungs and Yuta used this opportunity to hit my knees. I collapsed on the ground, and Yuta grabbed a fistful of my long, pink hair.

"Wanna give up now?"

"Never."

I unsheathed my zanpaktou and sliced through the long strands of hair easily. Vaguely I wondered why no one was stopping our fight, because it was obviously no longer a simple spar, but a full out battle to the death? My answer to my thoughts was the fact that _every single_ person in our squad was staring at us. I wanted to growl at them, but I was distracted by Yuta's sword coming dangerously close to my arm. I blocked his attack with Kurohime, and counterattacked. We continued this dangerous dance of death for several minutes, neither of us landing a single hit.

And I was getting tired and cranky. A cranky Sakura is someone you do NOT want to be fighting, because in the end you will most likely end up missing a limb.

I backed away from Yuta, sick and tired of this "spar". I held Kurohime out in front of me and said, " Freeze, Kurohime. Koori Hana!"

My sword disintegrated into tiny pieces that resembled flower petals and swiftly moved toward Yuta. He panicked and started swinging his sword around like a mad man. It did no good because the petals surrounded him, and covered every inch of his skin. They hardened and stuck to his skin. His movements stopped completely after they hardened, because he was frozen alive. I moved toward him, slowly, because I was in no hurry. I lifted the hilt of my sword to his neck and said; "I win."

The hardened petals, which were actually ice, melted from his body, and returned to the sword. Once Kurohime had fully reformed, I re-sheathed the sword, and walked away from Yuta. I dully noted the sound of feet grinding on the ground, but didn't think anything of it.

"I'll kill you, bitch!"

I turned around, almost as in slow motion, to see Yuta running toward me with his zanpaktou aimed for my heart. I didn't have time to move or time to take out my own sword. I was going to die. Damn.

A sudden breeze caught my attention and my eyes widened to find someone blocking Yuta's sword with their own. I could only stare at their back in amazement. I knew the technique they had used, but I had never seen it before. Someone had used flash step to save me. But why would they save me? Why would _he_ save me?

"You are out of place. Abarai restrain him."

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Abarai answered.

Seconds later, Yuta was cuffed with special reiatsu restraining handcuffs. All the while he was screaming curses at me, but I was still in shock. I turned around, only to take notice that my savior was walking away. I quickly stood up and ran after him.

"Excuse me, sir. I just wanted to thank you for saving me. Thank you!" I said.

"Be more careful next time," he said, turning away.

"Yes sir."

"I wouldn't want you getting hurt after all," he said quietly.

What?

"S-Sir?"

"You're dismissed, Haruno-san."

"Yes, sir."

I walked away, but not without gazing back at the raven locks of hair that belonged to my savior. "Thank you so much," I murmured.

… That was the day that I fell in love with the Captain of Squad Six, Kuchiki Byakuya.

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**Yeah, not very fluffish, but Byakuya is an ice cube. I made him a little OC, but I had to. I thought they make a good couple because, come on, the name of Byakuya's zanpaktou is Senbonzakura, which means "A Thousand Cherry Blossoms." **

**Other Info:**

**Kurohime: "Black Princess"**

**Koori Hana: "Ice Flower"**

**Yeah, I suck at naming things. Well, suggest couples or I'll just go and do my own!**


	2. Sweet As Pocky

_**Here's the second one-shot for Sakura Ai. This was requested by Lex The Vampires Saviour. This is a Naruto/Vampire Knight Crossover. Please Review!**_

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_**Sweet As Pocky**_

_ShikiXSakura_

_.:Shiki's P.O.V:._

Today was Tuesday, and that meant one thing to Shiki Senri.

Pocky.

Every Tuesday, Shiki drove to the store and would restock his fetish cabinet- cough, cough- pantry. Today wasn't unlike any other day; he woke up, yawned, and scratched the back of his head. He prepared for his favorite day of the week the same way as he did every week. A simple pair of black slacks and a white shirt was all he chose to wear. The weather wasn't sunny today, so he wouldn't need a parasol. 'Thank God', he thought. He hated the parasol. What was manly about a freaking parasol? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Anyway, he walked downstairs and was greeted by the sight of Aido lounging on the couch, reading a book. He did his customary morning greeting (after all Aido was his senior) and walked out the door. He glanced at the clouds and sighed. Maybe he would need the parasol; it looked like it was going to rain. He shrugged his shoulders and decided that he really didn't care. He walked to his car and slid into the black leather interior. Starting the car, he drove out of the iron gates of the Night Dorm and down the road.

He was glad that the windows were tinted, otherwise those silly Day Class girls would mob his car and he really didn't feel like killing fangirls today. He drove off the campus and was rewarded with… traffic. Who would suspect traffic on an early Tuesday morning? He patiently waited for _one_ hour on what would normally be a ten-minute drive to make it to his destination. He had discovered the problem of the delay to be a herd of cows had gone crazy and had starting eating pavement. He ground his teeth in frustration and drove on.

He drove into the parking lot of the store and gaped. What was going on today? The parking lot happened to be full of cars. This happened to be one of the smallest stores in town, so why would the parking lot be full? As far as he knew, there wasn't a sale today. Unless the world needed some of the generic necessities the store held, he couldn't make sense of the full parking lot. So, he drove around for ten minutes waiting for a spot. Finally, a little old lady puttered over to her equally ancient car. Then she fumbled around for her keys. Then she dropped them. Then she picked them up. Then she opened her trunk and _individually_ put her groceries in. Then she closed her truck and dropped her keys again. Then she picked them up and tottered over to her door. Shiki's hopes rose. Then she dropped her keys _again._ He ground his teeth so hard he figured they might break and tapped his foot very close to the gas. He could simply hit the old lady and his problem could be fixed, but Kaname would kill him personally.

The old lady finally managed to get into her car and start the engine. The car slowly backed out and left… at a pace equal to a snail's. Just one little bump couldn't hurt the old lady- no. Shiki waited impatiently for the lady to leave and then pulled up into her vacated spot. He got out of his car and stomped into the store. He walked down the aisles deciding to get milk first to accompany his pocky. When he reached the milk aisle he gaped. For there was no regular milk left, nor any chocolate or strawberry, all that was left was _soymilk_. He reluctantly grabbed some and put it into his basket.

He walked down some more aisles searching for his favorite lane. He arrived and strutted down the aisle, looking forward to seeing his precious waiting for him. He finally found the place where his beautiful was supposed to be only to find… diapers? Why were there diapers where his pocky was supposed to be? He saw red for a moment before grabbing the closest clerk he could find and almost throttling him.

"Where is the pocky?" he asked.

"What?"

"Where. Is. The. Pocky?"

"We moved it down to aisle seven, by the candy!"

"Thank you," Shiki said, letting the clerk go (who then proceeded to fall to the ground in a little puddle of trauma).

He furiously flew down the lanes, searching for lane seven. Upon reaching it he ran down the aisle and stopped in front of the section that read pocky.

Only to find it empty.

He screamed in frustration, causing several customers to wet themselves in fear, and stalked to the customer service booth.

"Where did the pocky go?" he seethed, scaring the lady who sat reading a manga.

"E-Excuse me?"

"The pocky is gone."

"Sir, I'm sorry I can't do anything about that."

"I **need** pocky. There are going to be dire consequences if I cannot have said pocky. Understand?"

"Um… yes?"

"Good. Now where is the pocky?"

"I told you. We don't have any."

"Excuse me?"

"We don't have any more."

"Do the words _dire consequences _mean anything to you?"

"Sir, look I'm sorry, but we don't have any more."

"I understand," Shiki said, staring up through his lashes and dazzling the clerk, "Can you tell me where they went?"

"Um… I don't know."

"Please?" he said, flashing a smile.

She melted into a puddle on the floor and sighed, "The last boxes were bought by this pink-haired woman. She just left about five minutes ago."

"Thank you," Shiki said briskly, before storming out of the store. However, he seemed to have forgotten about the soymilk in his basket, which set the alarm off. He angrily turned to a clerk, shoved a ten dollar bill, in their hands and left. He gazed around the parking lot and decided that, because no cars appeared to be missing, the pink-haired girl must have taken off of foot. He climbed into his car and slammed on the gas. He flew down the road where there was no cow-created traffic. He shoved his foot on the brake because of the fact there was a pink-haired girl walking along the sidewalk with a grocery bag in her hand. Without a second thought, he grabbed her and pulled her into the car.

"What the hell!" she screamed. "Let me go! You pervert, pedophile, kidnapper, or sicko! I'll scream unless you let me go!"

"Shut up, you banshee! You have something that I want, and you're going to give it to me," Shiki threatened.

"The hell I am! I'm not giving you any of my money or my credit cards!"

"I don't want those."

"Then what the hell do you want?!"

"First of all, stop screaming profanities. Second of all, give me your pocky."

"Excuse me?"

"Your pocky, give it to me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's mine," she answered.

"It belongs to me," he said firmly.

"No it doesn't, I bought it!"

"I wanted it first."

"It doesn't matter who wanted it first. What matters is the fact that I bought it with my hard-earned money and the fact that you kidnapped me!"

"I did not kidnap you," he argued.

"What do you call pulling someone into your car against their will?"

"Negotiation."

"Negotiation? Are you some kind of psycho with a pocky fetish?"

"Why yes I am, now give me my pocky."

"No."

"Then you give me no other options then to use _it_."

"It? What the hell is it?"

Shiki stared at her from across the car, looking up through his eyelashes, turning his dazzle-factor to its limit.

"Listen pretty boy, stop looking at me like that. People like you who think they can get everything they want with their looks make me sick! Stare at the road before you crash this car!"

"Give me your pocky, or I will crash the car."

"You'll kill us both!"

"I will be unharmed, you will not be."

"Asshole!"

"I'll give you to the count of five to give me my pocky."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Four-"

"I don't have it anymore," she said quietly.

"Fi- wait, what?"

"It's gone."

"What happened to it?" he said through his teeth.

"I ate it all."

"You can't be serious."

"I am," she said, taking three _empty_ cartons of pocky out of the grocery bag.

Shiki felt like slamming his head against the steering wheel. All that trouble for nothing.

"Can I leave now? I don't have what you want," she said meekly.

Shiki slowed down the car a little, preparing to drop her off, but something stopped him from pressing the brake.

Because in the corner of her mouth was a crumb.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

He felt mesmerized by the crumb, knowing that it was from pocky. Her breath even smelled like it. He slowed down the car, but locked all of the doors.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Getting what I wanted," he answered, leaning in and capturing her lips.

They tasted like pocky. At first, she was unresponsive to his lips, but gradually they returned the kiss. It made the taste all the more powerful. For several moments they kissed- Shiki savoring the taste of pocky and she savoring the taste of his lips. They finally separated and stared at each other, their eyes glazed.

"Wow," she said.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sakura, what's yours?"

"Shiki."

"Do you go to Cross Academy?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That's cool, I'm a new student there."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Same here, although I need to ask. Why did you kiss me?"

"I always get what I want."

"Oh, um, well I guess I'll be seeing you," she said, unlocking her door and stepping out.

"Very well, just save some pocky for me next time," Shiki said.

"What makes you think I will?" Sakura asked, grinning maliciously.

"If you don't, I'll kiss you again."

"Isn't that more of an incentive?"

"Not when it's me."

"Fine, I'll save some for you."

She never would.

She offered Shiki a small smile and stepped out. He smirked at her and drove off slowly. He ran his tongue over his lips, savoring the taste of pocky and Sakura. He drove through the gates and parked in his usual spot. He walked back into the dorm and noticed that Aido was still reading.

"Took you a while, huh?" Aido said. "Line must have been long."

"It was."

"Did you get your pocky."

"You could say so," Shiki said, walking up the stairs to his room.

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**Lex, sorry if it wasn't as fluffish as you would have liked, but I couldn't think of anything else but this. Sorry for the delay.**

**Also, I apologize to Shiki for torturing him with traffic, full parking lots, an old lady, soymilk, clerks, and lack of pocky. Think of Sakura as a way of making it up to you^^**


	3. Chocolate Admirer

_**Rayne Says: I am soooooo happy for the quick responses and reviews for the last chapter. It gave me muse and helped me write the requested story for Kichijoten. I could only think of this story through AU High School, so that's what it is. I hope you like it! Please, review and request!**_

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_**Chocolate Admirer**_

_MelloXSakura_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V:._

Sakura woke up excited. Not just jittery excited, but full-blown-mass-explosion-genocide excited. She leapt out of her bed and immediately tripped on her cat, Hershey. Normally, she would have yelled at him for tripping her, but today she was in too much of a rush to care.

She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and combed her hair as carefully and thoroughly as she could. What should she do with hair? Should it be up or down? Straight or curly? Ponytail or pigtails? Her mind pondered the thoughts for almost thirty seconds before she grabbed her hair curler and gently curled her hair. She applied some light eyeshadow to her lids and some cherry chapstick to her lips. She gave a hundred-watt smile to her reflection and blew a kiss.

She didn't have much of a choice in what she wore, seeing as how uniforms were required. She liked her uniform enough to not be bothered by it. She shrugged on the white blouse and blue skirt that she wore everyday. Since it was February, it was cold enough to make her wear the itchy jacket she didn't like as much. She pulled on her loafers and grabbed some stray textbooks and put them into her bag.

She patted Hershey on the head, grabbed a small wrapped package, and ran out of the door. She only had to walk a small while alone before another girl in a similar uniform joined her. This girl, however, had blonde hair and blue eyes instead of pink hair and green eyes, and was more beautiful (in the eyes of Sakura and most of the male population).

"Morning, Forehead," Ino greeted.

"Morning, Pig," Sakura replied.

Since Sakura and Ino had become friends and were no longer rivals, their old taunts had become nicknames and no longer bothered either of them.

"Are you ready for today?" Ino asked.

"I guess so."

"You guess so? You know so! Trust me, today is going to be a V-Day to remember!"

"For you maybe, but not for me. The only cards I ever receive are from you, Hinata, and Lee. It's been that way for the past two years," Sakura stated.

"Maybe today will be different."

"I doubt it."

"Then what's that package you're holding in your arms?"

"Nothing!"

"It doesn't look like nothing. It looks like a confession of love!"

"It's not!"

"Who's it for?"

"I'm not telling you," Sakura argued, although she knew that Ino would bother her all day long until she found out.

"Please?"

"Maybe later?" Sakura pleaded.

"I'm going to hold that to you!"

Just then, Hinata strolled up the adjoining sidewalk and greeted them.

"G-Good Morning," she said quietly.

"Good morning, Hinata!" Ino said happily.

"Hello," Sakura answered.

"What are _you_ holding?" Ino asked; focusing her attention on a small, heart-shaped box nestled in Hinata's arms.

"C-Chocolates," Hinata stuttered honestly.

"For who?" Ino asked even thought she already knew.

"T-They're for-"

"Hinata! Sakura! Ino!" someone yelled, their voice quickly approaching. Hinata's face turned a shade of violent red, but it didn't mean that she was angry. Her feet tottered a bit, but she regained her footing, only to be crashed into by an orange blur.

"Hinata! Happy Valentine's Day!" Naruto screamed happily, holding a limp Hinata in his arms. "Huh? Hinata, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, Naruto," she said, standing up.

"You should let her go before she dies of air loss," Sakura instructed.

"Oh," Naruto said, letting go of Hinata and stepping away as if she were a leper.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata's timid voice squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"Um… these are for y-you," she said, handing him the box of chocolates.

"Wow! Thanks Hinata!" he yelled, grabbing the box and opening it. "Did you make all these? They look amazing! Oh, I didn't get you anything."

"That's o-okay."

"No it's not. I'll have to make it up to you somehow! Maybe… Hinata would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" he asked.

Hinata promptly fainted.

"Not again," Ino muttered under her breath.

Sakura picked up Hinata, who couldn't hear Naruto's profuse apologies, and managed to lean her on her shoulder. Her other male friend, Lee, chose then to stroll up and greet them.

"Hello, youthful companions! Isn't today a youthful day? We should run all the way to school so that we may be in top form for a youthful day of learning!"

"Lee, if you say "youth" in any form for the rest of the day, I will personally make sure that you end up with your foot in your mouth," Ino said darkly.

"Y-Yes," Lee stuttered.

"Good."

Lee reached into his backpack and devotedly delivered four packages of sweets to his friends. Sakura smiled sweetly at his inscription of "The Youthful Blossom Blooms Twice! Love, Lee" and gave him a hug. He was one of her closest friends, and he'd even confessed his love to her on several occasions, but he'd gradually accepted her mainly plutonic love.

She put the sweets in her bag and together the five-some walked to their school. They went their separate ways to their lockers and Sakura traded some of her books and put her bag away. She did, however, hold on tightly to the package in her arms. It wouldn't do to have her drop it and someone else find it. She took a different route then usual down to the Junior Hall. Being as how, Sakura was a sophomore, she wasn't necessarily supposed to be in this hall, but it wasn't an officially written rule.

She walked until she reached a locker with the number 361 on it before stopping. She looked to the side, but no one seemed to see her. She offered a small smile to no one before gently relinquishing her package.

It wasn't necessarily a big package, but it wasn't too small. It was small enough to fit through one of the slots in the locker. She doubled checked that the package was in a good enough condition to be delivered before dropping it into the locker. She let out a sigh, knowing what she had just done couldn't be undone. She walked out of the hall and searched for her friends. She found them and they hung out and enjoyed the typical merriment of a partial-holiday.

By third period, Sakura was just a tiny bit depressed. It wasn't a huge case of depression where she would go home, eat ice-cream, watch soap operas just so she could feel sorry for fictional people, all the while crying and ruining her ice-cream because everyone knows that salty ice-cream isn't very good to eat, but it was still enough to make her continuous smile fade a little.

Anyway… Sakura walked back to her locker to put her books away for lunch. As she was doing so, however, a small package dropped down onto the floor. Sakura stared at it dumbly for several moments before picking it up and looking at it. It was a box of candy with a small notebook paper stapled to it. The note read simply, "Thought these matched your personality- I hope that doesn't offend you! I like that about you! Um… anyway, Happy Valentine's Day. Dearly, Your Chocolate Admirer."

She didn't really understand what it meant by "Chocolate Admirer". Lots of people liked chocolate; it could be anybody. She glanced at the box of candy and was glad that she'd read the note before looking. The box of candy turned out to be a box of SweeTarts. She almost felt like laughing at his reference to her personality. She put the box of candy and the note in her pocket and walked off to meet her friends.

She didn't tell anyone about the package because she knew that Ino would make it her Hell-bent mission to find whoever had sent it. Sakura didn't wish to incur her wrath on anybody. Ino talked most of lunch about how many presents she'd gotten already. She said she would need a moving truck to get them all home. Hinata had regained consciousness, but was suffering from a constant blush. Lee was having "youth" withdrawals. Naruto was… Naruto.

Sakura filed into her last class the day. She took her seat in the back of the room and kept looking at her desk. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in math, she was, but it was the fact that _he_ was in this class.

He meant Mello.

Sakura had had a crush on him since the beginning of last year when they'd had two classes together. Even though he was sophomore, Sakura had some of his classes because of the fact that she was a freak: a smart freak- but a freak nonetheless.

She stared up as she felt someone looking at her and caught the gaze of dark-brown eyes. She blushed and returned her gaze to the desk. She smelled a slight scent of chocolate in the air and allowed herself to sneak a peek. There he was, sitting at his desk, eating the chocolate that _she_ had given him. She felt as though she were going to faint.

Class passed quickly and too soon the bell rang as usual. She gathered her things slowly, wanting to savor every moment with him she had. After all, this was the only time of day she saw him. She started to walk down the aisle of desks. All of a sudden, he stood up, and Sakura ran into him. She didn't think she hit him too hard, but apparently she caught him off guard. They both fell to the ground of the classroom, knocking desks down along the way.

The irony of it being the fact they landed in a little perverse position.

Sakura had landed on top of Mello, and she groaned from the pain of landing on something not made for landing on.

"I-I'm sorry," she said, standing up and brushing off her skirt. She offered him a hand and he took it, standing up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, that was quite a fall we had, wasn't it?"

She almost melted. "I guess so. I'm sorry for making you fall."

"No, it's my fault," he answered.

"It's mine," she argued, her stubborn side showing up.

"Mine," he said, smiling.

"Can we agree that it's both of our faults?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I have to make it up to you."

"No you don't."

"Please let me?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Dinner and a walk?"

"That's all?"

"Do you want diamonds too?"

"No, it's just I didn't figure you to be the "dinner and a walk" kind of guy."

"I'm a man of mystery."

"Yes you are. So what time should I expect you?"

"Around eight-ish."

"Thanks."

"For what?" Mello asked.

"Um… inviting me, I guess."

"Well it **is **Valentine's Day."

"You're right. I have to go. My friends are waiting for me."

"See you later and Happy V-Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," she replied. Sakura made it to the door before his voice interrupted her melting.

"One more thing: Do you like SweeTarts?"

"Actually I do, why?"

He walked past her through the doorway and down the hall, but she could swear she heard his voice carried on an invisible wind.

"I thought you would, it's why I got them for you…"

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**Not very fluffy but I think it was cute. What do you think? Remember to review and request!**


	4. Vile Liquid

**Rayne Says: Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I was grounded for a month T-T**

**Anywho, due to very popular demand this chapter was written. If I haven't written a chapter that has your request in it yet, don't worry. Breathe. I'll get to it. As I say on my profile page, Friday is the day that I will update this story. One or two chapters a week, pending. **

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**The Vile Liquid**

EdwardXSakura

.:Edward's P.O.V.:.

Ed was in the hospital… again.

It wasn't even his fault! If that guy hadn't happened to have a freaking sword, then he wouldn't be here anyways. It wasn't his fault that he'd been momentarily distracted and the guy had landed a lucky shot and hit him in the lung. No; not his fault at all.

That wasn't how Mustang saw it. He thought that Ed had committed a "reckless act of self-endangerment" and that he was "going to get seriously injured one of these days", oh and let's not forget that he just had to put it a "we wouldn't want someone as small as you to get hurt" part. He hated Mustang.

To top it off, one of the nurses had taken on look at him and scribbled "calcium deficiency" on her clipboard. She could have at least had the guts to put "small fry". But no, he was stuck in the hospital with people who seemed to think he was too short. At least Al had learned not to comment on his height. It seemed as though Central needed to relearn that Edward Elric did not like comments of his height- at all.

Currently, he was stuck in bed with a tray of uneaten food on the table next to him. He wasn't hungry- the damn nurses had taken his appetite away. Al was reading a random book he'd found in the library. Winry had traveled all the way down here to rant and rave all about how he should "stop getting the crap beat out of him". He was frustrated and cranky. And a cranky Edward is not someone you want to be around.

Ed's aura was sending rays of negativity all around the room and he found himself glaring at almost everything he could lay eyes on- the stupid door that he couldn't walk out of, the stupid bars on the bed so he couldn't get out, the stupid blanket that his legs were tangled in, and the stupid bandages around his waist that were keeping him from bleeding to death. Hey, he could do something about those. He grasped a hand around the corner of a bandage and pulled. It broke free easily and he started unwrapping his appendages. Eventually Al and Winry took notice.

"Big Brother! What are you doing?" Al yelled.

"Ed, you idiot! You're going to start bleeding!" Winry shouted.

"I don't care!"

"Are you suicidal?" Winry bellowed.

"Big Brother, stop!"

Winry continued to yell at him and attempt to rewrap the bandages, but he withheld her. Al looked worried and kept saying "Big Brother!" but he didn't care. Al took a final look at him unwrapping the final strip of bandage and bolted for the hallway.

"See? Al's smart. You should follow him," Ed commented.

Winry screeched and followed Al into the hall. Ed continued removing the cloth until he could finally see bare skin again. Just in time to see it turn red. Of course _now_ he thought about consequences! Didn't Winry say something about bleeding? The ceiling looked very bright… and shiny. It was so pretty. He felt like floating right up to the ceiling and touching it. What would it feel like? He heard footsteps, but ignored them. He heard voices calling his name, but he didn't pay them any attention.

"Why the hell did he unwrap his bandages?" a new voice cursed. Ed noted that the voice was feminine and that it was unfamiliar. He felt something being drawn on his chest and wanted to look and see, but found that he couldn't. What was going on?

He heard a clap that sounded mysteriously like alchemy and felt energy being put into him. It felt like his skin was being stitched back together and like he could think again. To his dismay, he still couldn't open his eyes.

"There. That should keep the idiot alive for a little while," the voice said.

Wait- did the voice just call him a _little idiot_? Was it implying that he was both short and stupid? When he could open his eyes he was going to strangle this person!

Unfortunately, another wave of energy came through him and he fell into a deep slumber.

When he woke up, he immediately was aggravated by the fact that someone had redone his bandages. After all the hard work he had to go through! He ground his teeth in frustration and glared at the first thing his eyes set on.

Which happened to be a complete stranger.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

The figure observed him dryly as he looked her up and down. Her hair was pink, a very odd color, and her eyes were a bright green. She was wearing a nurse's uniform, with a white coat over it.

"I should be the one asking questions here. Why did you remove your dressings?" she asked, and he recognized her voice as the one that he had heard earlier.

"You answer my question first."

"I have a higher authority here," she answered smugly. "You have to answer to me."

"Why the hell should I?"

"If you don't, I'm authorized to secure you in a nice, padded room for the rest of your life," she said with a misleading smile upon her face.

"You-"

"Yes me. You, on the other hand, have not answered my question. If you tell me why you did what you did, I'll tell you my name."

"Fine, I took them off because I don't need them and I want to get out of here!"

"Eh, I've heard better reasons."

"That's the truth! Now tell me your name."

"Yo! I'm Sakura Haruno, the Medical Alchemist."

"Medical Alchemist?" he scoffed. "Never heard of it."

"It's because you live under a rock and because I prefer to work abroad. I'm rarely in Central. This is why- I come home, expecting a nice "How have you been?" and a routine check-up on _my_ hospital, only to be talked into using _my_ alchemy to heal a pathetic shrimp."

"Who are you calling a shrimp? You're about my size!"

"Your height is listed as 5'4''. I am 5'5''. I'm an inch taller than you, shrimp."

Ed wanted to lunge at her and do something. It didn't matter if she was a girl; he was going to at least bruise that soft, pale skin.

"Don't strain yourself, shrimp. I won't be as generous this time and heal you if you start bleeding to death again."

Ed ground his teeth, but let her shrimp comment slide… a little. "Stop calling me shrimp."

"Well if you want to grow taller there is such a thing as milk, you know."

"I hate milk."

"You hate milk? Why?"

"It's disgusting."

"No wonder you're so short. You have a calcium deficiency."

"I do not!"

"Then tell me why you're so short?"

"I-It's a genetic trait!"

"Oh really? Then why is your brother so tall?"

"It's a suit of armor!" Ed yelled.

"He'd have to big enough to fit inside and maneuver that thing around. I bet you'd just jiggle around if you were inside."

"It doesn't matter! You're not making me drink milk!"

"Would you prefer the padded room?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"No, but I'm not going to let any white liquid that comes from a cow go down my throat!"

"So you'd prefer goat's milk?"

"I don't want **any** milk!"

"Oh, rest assured, before you leave this building you'll have drank at least one glass of milk- I promise you that," she answered, smirking.

"I doubt that," Ed sulked.

"Just you wait."

She walked out of the room, her heels clacking on the floor. Ed sank back into his pillows, a frown upon his face. Who was she to think that she could get him to drink that horrible drink? Just who was she? And what the hell was medical alchemy anyway? He'd never heard about it before. Maybe he should ask-

"Hey Fullmetal, how are you today?" speak-of-the-Devil, Roy Mustang asked.

"Just peachy."

"Oh really? Then you wouldn't mind filling out some paperwork for me."

"Hell no."

"I didn't ask; that was an order."

"Whatever. Mustang?"

"Yeah?"

"Who the hell is Sakura Haruno?"

"Who is she?"

"Yeah."

"Only the most luscious, gorgeous, beautiful, talented female alchemists in the world! God, I'd love to get that woman in bed!"

"Mustang!"

"Huh?" he asked, a nosebleed forming from his nostril.

"What's medical alchemy?"

"Quite possibly one of the hardest forms of alchemy. It requires a lot of concentration, control, and knowledge of human anatomy. It's basics aren't exactly the same as other kinds of alchemy, like yours or mine. Medical alchemy depends on the alchemist's own energy for it to work. It's why a lot of people die from it, by even the slightest miscalculation."

"And a girl can do this?"

"Don't say anything like that near her. She'd beat you to a bloody pulp, then heal you, and do it all over again."

"Thanks for the advice."

"It wasn't advice. It was a warning," a voice came from the doorway.

Standing the doorway was Sakura. She glared at Ed and shot a glance at Mustang. "Warning him about me already, eh?"

"I didn't want him to make the same mistake so many other men have," Mustang answered.

"Like yourself," she answered. "I recall many moments when you've chosen to comment on my gender. And equally as many moments when you've looked up my skirt."

"Accidents," he said.

"Right. Like the time you _accidentally_ groped me?"

"Exactly."

"Get out of my hospital **now**."

"Um… see you later Fullmetal."

"Don't just abandon me you asshole!" Ed yelled.

"He didn't abandon you, shrimp. He just went on a trip to the bathroom that he probably won't be coming back from," the Haruno girl commented.

"Why are you here anyway?"

"Simple! You're going to drink your milk!" she said gleefully.

"No way! That crap tastes like vomit!"

"Okay, can't say I didn't give you a chance," she said, grabbing the class.

"What are you doing?"

"This," she answered, lunging for him.

"What the hell?"

Sakura grabbed Ed by the collar of his shirt and attempted to pry his mouth open just enough to let a little dribble seep through. Unfortunately, Ed's jaw was too strong and he clamped down hard enough so that Sakura couldn't open his mouth. She released her death grip on his shirt and backed away, glaring.

"You Shrimp Elric will drink milk."

"No, I will **not**."

"Just you wait," she seethed.

"I am waiting. Waiting for you to shut up that is."

The crazy Haruno girl hit him hard on the head and said, "Patient or not, I can always heal all the damage I cause you."

A bump formed on top of Ed's head and he glared at the girl. "You can do whatever the hell you want, but I'm not drinking any milk."

"Fine," she said.

"Good."

Sakura checked some of his vitals before leaving the room. Ed was glad that she'd given up on making him drink milk. She was crazy.

So Ed sat and waited in bed for someone to visit him. No one came. No Al, no Winry, and no Mustang came to talk to him. He spent the next three hours in solitude wondering what the hell was going on. He heard the door open and his heart soared with the hope of conversation with someone, but immediately plummeted when he noticed it was the Haruno girl.

"So how's solitude?" she asked, grinning.

"Y-You-"

"Yep. I put you on a no visitor status until you drink your milk!"

"Hell no!"

"Hell yes!"

"I'm still not drinking that damn stuff!" Ed screamed.

"Fine, I guess I'll just drink it." She grabbed the drink and chugged the entire thing down in thirty seconds. She didn't wipe the milk moustache from over her lips and Ed found his gaze resting there for several moments. Her lips looked so delicate and… moist. He licked his lips and then mentally hit himself. What the hell was he thinking?

"I'll be going then," she said smiling. She walked out of the room and Ed let out a breath of air he hadn't known he was holding. He punched his pillows in aggravation and sank into them, grumbling like an old man.

So he was mildly surprised when Sakura came back in. He looked at her, confused. "Why are you here?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she leaned over him, checking his bandages. With her leaning over him the way she was, he was bound to notice the great view he had of her ample chest. He found his palms sweating and his heart was racing like crazy.

Sakura didn't look at him at all, until she started leaning away. Before he was aware of his actions, Ed grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a kiss.

Her lips were just as soft as he'd imagined, but what he hadn't imagined was a warm liquid coming from her mouth into his. He immediately broke the kiss and noticed a smirking Sakura.

"See? I told ya I'd get you to drink milk!"

Ed couldn't believe it. She'd planned that? She knew that he'd kiss her?

"How?" he asked himself.

"Simple, it was either you kiss me or I'd kiss you. I'm just glad you started it."

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm not very good at kissing," she answered, blushing.

For some reason, Ed thought Sakura's pink-tinted cheeks were beautiful.

"Well, um, I could always help you there," he replied, his cheeks also red.

"On one condition."

"Anything," he said.

"You have to drink your milk," she said, smirking.

Damn.

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**Rayne Says: i don't really like this story a lot. I just think I could have done so much better. Please give nice reviews?**

**Also, parts of this story were inspired by a one-shot by (someone whose name I don't remember) and it's a Hayate/Sakura. I couldn't have come up with something that brilliant by myself.**

**Review pwease?**


	5. Slave Girl

**Rayne Says: I actually like this chapter! This idea is pretty much my dream fantasy of something I wish would happen to me. *Sigh* Anywho, I would like to restate some facts about this fanfiction.**

**1) You can submit couples from Ouran High School Host Club (anime), Fruits Basket(anime), Fullmetal Alchemist (anime), Bleach, Vampire Knight (manga), and Death Note. To those few people who have been requesting pairings from Inu Yasha, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to do them. I do not watch Inu Yasha, so I would not be able to accurately write a story with those characters. **

**2) I will not repeat two animes in a row. I have an order I'll be going through. Bleach, Vampire Knight, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran High School Host Club, and Fruits Basket. That's a tentative order, but I like having a bit of randomness in this fic.**

**3) I will only repeat couples after five chapters from that anime: Example- If I have a ByaSaku fic, I cannot have another one until five Bleach chapters later. **

**I have a question that I would like your opinions on: Should I also include book crossovers? Like from Twilight or Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Please state your opinion in your review.**

**Okay, now I'm done blabbing and being all boring. I would however like to say thanks to: Lex The Vampires Saviour. , nekozr, Kichijoten, lulswut, song-baka, Pure Sakura Haruno, Karin Ochibi-chan, tweetybaby2, Fail Haruno, and FallIntoAHellCalledLove. I would like to apologize to yuchi1994 for not being able to do an Inu Yasha crossover.**

**Well- here is Karin Ochibi-chan and Kichijoten's anime crossover! I hope you like it! Read and review!**

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**Slave Girl**

_KaoruXSakuraXHikaru_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

I couldn't believe I'd let Ino talk me into this. This was just utterly ridiculous. I mean, I understand why Ino would be into something like this, but me? When is Ino going to get it into her head that I like books more than boys? I'd rather spend an afternoon filling my mind with knowledge than hanging around having tea with flirty boys. Sure it seems immature, but I've always been a bit behind on the puberty scale.

This means that a) I'm flat chested b) I'm not very feminine and c) I don't like boys very much. I'm not into love at all. It just seems so… unnecessary. I've seen Ino after she breaks up with a boyfriend and it's not pretty at all. Why is love worth that kind of heartbreak? Lately, Ino's been obsessed with this place and the boys who work here. Today she decided to drag me along when I'd rather be learning about Calculus.

I guess you could say I'm smart. Some would even go as far to say a genius, but I'd deny them. I'm not a genius; I just like learning and have a photographic memory. Teachers love me too, because I ask for extra credit and more challenging homework. Needless to say, I'm a bit of a nerd.

Anyway, so here I am, in this Hell that Ino managed to drag me into. I'm not mad at Ino for this, she can't help it. She's boy crazy. She rereads magazines just so she can analyze the pictures and find out what guys find attractive. Guys find Ino attractive. She has gorgeous, long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She is not flat chested and likes wearing low cut shirts when she's not in uniform. I guess being rich helps too. Ino is in class 1-A; while I'm in class 1-B. Even though we're in different classes, Ino still remains my friend and partial protector. Her friends sometimes tease her for "slumming" but she ignores those comments. I wish I had Ino's confidence.

It was Ino's idea to get me away from the library. She talked (actually she bribed) the librarian into forbidding me from the library for the week. I almost cried, but then Ino showed up and I connected the dots. Still I miss the library. So, Ino dragged me up and down flights of stairs until we reached the empty music room. She opened the door and immediately giggled. That's when I'd known something was up.

I almost was able to escape, but Ino grabbed my wrist in her claw-like grip and dragged me into the room. I expected to see some her friends, but was surprised to see the room full of girls and a select few _boys_. The boys appeared to be flirting with the girls. It seemed quiet pathetic to me. Ino had immediately honed onto a table where a tall blonde was talking about "commoner coffee". He sounded so enamored with the idea of instant coffee, like a kid at Christmas. Really, I'd had instant coffee before and I did prefer it, but to this extreme? I mean; the guy was practically worshipping the plastic container.

I hovered over to a corner where I could ignore everyone else, and pulled out a book. Really, Ino should have known better than to try to include me in social activities. Ino's a butterfly, I'm a moth. I browse through the pages, reading quickly. After a while, I feel a pair of eyes on me, but I dutifully ignore them. I didn't come here for the boys, I came to read and make Ino somewhat happier. The eyes don't leave me for a second and then something blocks my view of the pages. I glance up at whoever is interrupting my reading, only to find myself wondering if I'm crazy.

Because I'm seeing double.

Two identical boys are both smirking at me, while one of them- the one on the right- has his hand draped over my book.

"Do you mind?" I ask. "I'm trying to read."

"Why would you come to a host club if you were only going to read?" the one on the left asks.

"My friend made me come. I have no interest in these kinds of things."

"What kind of things?" Right asks.

"Boys," I answer.

"So you're a girl-lover?" Right says.

"No!" I answer, blushing.

"Then why are you ignoring such handsome men?"

"Because I'm interested in your type," I answer smoothly.

"Oh? And what's your type?"

"Someone who thinks girls are easy."

They exchange a look before glancing back at me. They start whispering furiously, glancing at me every now and again.

"If you're going to talk to me, at least have the decency to say it to my face."

"Why are you wearing that?" Left asks.

I look down at my clothes. Sure, it's not exactly the uniform, but I'd begged my parents not to make me wear the ugly girl's uniform. Yellow does not go well with my hair, and the poofy sleeves were just too weird. Thankfully, after a hefty bribe, I was given my own uniform. It's white and just drapes over me, but I like it a lot.

"It's my uniform."

"Last time I checked, girl's uniforms were yellow," Right says.

"I have permission to wear this uniform."

"And is that your natural hair color?" Left asks.

"Yes," I seethe through my teeth. "Now can you please stop bothering me? I'd like to get back to my book."

"Not likely," Right answers, snatching my book out of my hands.

"Hey!" I shout. "Give it back!"

"Romeo and Juliet? Feeling romantically deprived?"

"No, I'm just reading it. Now give it back!"

"Hikaru, maybe we should give it back," Left says.

"Kaoru, if this girl wanted to read she should do so in the library. Not in a host club," Right says.

"Listen, please just give me the book back. I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" they say.

"Um-"

"Very well, starting right now- you're our slave for the day!"

"What?"

"You're our slave," Hikaru says, smirking like the Cheshire Cat.

"B-But-"

"You did say anything," Kaoru comments.

"Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"First, tell us your name," Hikaru says.

"Sakura Haruno, class 1-B."

"Haruno? Is your father Fugaku Haruno, the world-famous lawyer?"

"Yeah."

"Nice to make your acquaintance. Now you need to put this on and report back here in five minutes."

Out of nowhere, they produce a lumpy package and hand it to me. I reluctantly take it and walk to the bathroom. I figure since they said, "put it on" that it'' be an item of clothing. Joy. Once I'm in the bathroom, I unwrap the package carefully and gawk. T-Those bastards.

In the package is… a maid's uniform.

Muttering curses under my breath, I put the uniform on. It's a tad bit too short for my liking, but I can deal. It's only for one day, right? The dress is sleeveless, which I find rather interesting for a maid's uniform. It's cut in a slightly Lolita fashion. Actually, it's kinda pretty. I wonder who made it? There's no tag in the dress so I can only guess at its origins.

I put on the sandals they've provided and step out of the bathroom. I walk back into the music room and am immediately aware of the stares I'm getting. I blush bright crimson and stare down at my shoes. Stupid boys. Stupid Sakura. Stupid Ino.

I hear heels clacking on the ground and look up to face Ino's stunned eyes. "Wow, Sakura, you look amazing. How come you changed your outfit?"

"Those twin boys made me."

"Hikaru and Kaoru? Why?"

"I'm their slave for the day so that I can get my book back," I dully answer.

"Oh! You're so lucky. I wish I was Tamaki's slave. That would make my year!"

"Is that the blonde boy?"

"Yeah, isn't he dreamy?"

"Sure, Ino."

Suddenly, I feel a pair of hands grasp my forearms. "Hello, Miss Yamanaka. Would you mind if we bored Miss Sakura from you?"

"Not at all," Ino giggles.

I shoot a glare at Ino, but she turns her back to me and walks right back to that Tamaki fellow. The hands turn me back around and I once again find myself facing the evil duo.

"This outfit looks much better on you than your other rags," Hikaru says.

"Gee, thanks."

"Now to begin your duties for the day!" they say.

They hand me an extremely long list of very random things.

"I'll never get this done in a day!"

"Sure you will- if you get started now."

I shoot them a glare before glancing down at the first thing on the list.

_**#1: Bake a cake and feed it to us**_

I sigh and head toward the kitchens. I could always just order a cake, but I think they'd notice. Ouran's cooks are noted to be excellent pastry chefs. Of course, in my weird little maid outfit no one assumes I'm a student, and when I'm asked what I'm doing I say "Fixing a cake for some of the masters."

I spend an entire hour on the cake, making sure it is perfectly cooked and the icing is good. I'd iced half of the cake pink and half of the cake blue, because I distantly remembered Ino telling me something about "twins with colorful hair." I assume that she was talking about Hikaru and Kaoru. I don't think there are any more twins that Ino could come in contact with.

I put the cake on a platter and grab some plates and utensils. I walk back up to the music room and find the twins flirting with a gaggle of girls. I set the cake down on the table and cut a slice for each of them. Pink for Hikaru and blue for Kaoru. I set them down on the table in front of them and say," Your meal is served."

They glance at the cake a little skeptically, but pick up their forks and take a hesitant bite. After a moment their eyes light up and they both smirk simultaneously (which is a tad bit creepy). "Mmm, Miss Sakura, this cake is delicious."

"Thank you."

"Now look at your list again."

**#2: Feed us the cake**

My eyes widen and I clench my jaw. I pick up Hikaru's fork and shove a piece of cake into his mouth. Then I feed Kaoru. This continues until both boys declare that they are too full to eat anymore. I take the cake away and look at what's next on my list.

**#3: Make Mori smile**

Who's Mori? I ask them this and they point out a tall boy with short black hair who's hanging around some little child. Why would a child be in a host club? I don't think there are any pedophiles at Ouran. Guess I'm wrong. I walk toward the stoic boy and tap him on the shoulder. He turns around and stares at me blankly.

"Hello, I am Sakura Haruno and I'm going to make you smile."

…Thirty minutes and two hundred seventy-three knock-knock jokes later…

"That's it. I give up! I can't make you smile!" I say, frowning in frustration.

Mori glanced up at me and a genuine smile broke out across his face.

"You're cute when you're frustrated."

I blush and smile back at him. "Uh… thanks?"

A set of arms link with my own and drag me away from Mori. "Sorry, Mori, but Sakura's our slave."

I frown at them, but look down at what's next on the list.

**#4: Call Haruhi a girl**

They point me over to a very feminine-looking boy with brown hair. I feel really sorry for what I'm about to do, but I must do it. My book depends upon it.

"Hello," I say. "You look like a girl."

"W-What? N-No I-I'm n-n-not," the boy stutters.

I turn away and walk back to the twins.

"Your friend should do something about that stuttering problem."

They stifle laughter and point to my next chore.

**#5: Dust the entire music room**

Today's going to be a long day…

…Five hours and fifty-seven chores later…

"There, I'm done!" I say happily.

"Wait," Hikaru says, taking the paper from me and writing something down on it.

"What? Come on, I've done everything you told me to do! I cleaned your fish tank, played with Hunny, made Tamaki emo, replaced Kyoya's notes with coloring pages, and played dress up for an hour! No more!"

"Just read the list," Kaoru says.

**#73: Hold still and close your eyes**

"What does this mean?" I ask.

"Just do it," Hikaru orders.

I feel something pressed into my hands and gasp as I feel two pairs of lips on both my cheeks. The lips linger for a small moment before they leave. I open my eyes and stare up at the twins. They both have matching lazy grins on their faces. Kaoru has an adorable blush across his cheeks, while Hikaru has a slightly wild look in his eyes. Without thinking, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss Kaoru and then Hikaru on the lips. I turn around and walk away, my book resting peacefully in my arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I call.

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**Yeah the ending was a little lame, but I like it. Please review and suggest couples!**


	6. Mine

**Rayne Says: Sorry it took me forever to put up a new chapter (even after I put up update days on my profile). I feel so horrible for making you wait. This chapter took me forever to think of, because I was originally planning to do a HatoriXSakura (which is a work-in-progress), but then I got writer's block and... yeah. So this chapter contains a very OC Momiji. I just thought it'd be funny to do. It ended up being a tensy bit cute. **

**This chapter was inspired by: **LeaveMeInTheDark, yuchi1994, **and more specifically** Fail Haruno. **I know it isn't very Yuki/Saku, but I mainly paired with Momiji/Saku. It also was inspired by the wikipedia description of Momiji which says-** "He later warns Kyo that if he does not act on his feelings for Tohru, someone else, such as himself, might steal her away;[91] **Which says to me that Momiji has the potential to be possessive. And-** "he hopes to find a girlfriend as wonderful as Tohru." **Which says that he's looking for love!**

**I'm going to stop blathering now and get back to the story. Also, please say in your review if I should do books? (Most likely possibility would be Twilight and Harry Potter)**

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**Mine**

_Momiji/Sakura/Yuki_

_.:Momiji's P.O.V.:._

I sat down next to Hatsuharu, and opened my lunch. Tohru had packed it for me (which made me very happy! Tohru is such a wonderful cook!). I picked up my onigiri and took a bite. Beautifully delicious as usual! I continued munching on my lunch as Haru ate his. We don't speak much, but, then again, we never really did. I casually perused the student body as they went about their lunches. Tohru's group, which now included Kyo and Yuki, was sitting by the fence. I gazed at them and was surprised to find an extra body.

"Hey, Haru, who's that girl sitting next to Yuki?" I asked.

"Hmm? That's Sakura Haruno, the new transfer student."

"Oh! It's good that's she's made friends so quickly."

"Hmm."

I looked at the Haruno girl. She had unusual hair. Not that her hairstyle was unusual (it was quite normal), the color was what was unusual. Is pink her natural hair color? I gazed at it fondly, deciding that it fit her quite well. Her skin was porcelain white and very doll-like. Her lips were soft and dainty and… kissable. I shook my head and went back to observing her. Her eyes were a bright, vibrant green that sparkled with life and energy. She was small, maybe a little shorter than me, but it fit her. Her personality made up for her height. Her smile was a dazzling sun that blinded me. This Sakura Haruno girl was no mere mortal—she was a goddess!

I licked my lips hungrily. Most people buy the act I sell that I'm all sugarcoated goodness, but only people like Hatori or Haru know my real self. And my real self likes this new girl _a lot_.

"What grade is she in?" I asked.

"She's in Yuki's class."

I felt a stab of jealousy at Yuki. Why did this beautiful girl have to be in his class? I glared daggers at the purple-haired boy and felt like hurting him. I overanalyzed his body language and found that he was actually leaning in toward _my_ Sakura! His hand was resting closely to hers, and if he shifted even a little bit he'd touch her hand. I fiercely sent him a telepathic message to "get his hand the fuck away from the pink-haired goddess", but he didn't seem to receive it. If anything, he moved closer! I thought he was interested in Tohru!

Then I had to remind myself that Tohru had recently started dating Kyo. That meant that Tohru was off the market and this new girl… was on it. I burned holes into Yuki's head with my eyes and felt my temper rising. This called for extreme measures! I stood up, throwing away the rest of my lunch, and stormed away. I went around in circles looking for nondescript girl who nobody would listen to if she started babbling about boys turning into animals. I found such a girl and quickly hugged her.

The smoke surrounded me and I swiftly hopped away. I ran through the bushes until I reached the closest one to Tohru's group. I keenly hopped out and acted very rabbit-like. It took a few moments before they even noticed me, but once they did it was very entertaining. The few who were unaware of the Sohma secret squealed in delight at my cuteness, minus my Sakura, which slightly disappointed me, while those were in the know stared at me, shocked.

"O-Oh look at the rabbit!" Tohru said, acting as though there was nothing wrong.

I inwardly smirked and hopped a bit closer. My transformation would wear off in a little bit, so I needed to hurry up. I bounced my way closer to Sakura and hopped into her open lap. Pure joy emanated from me as I gazed into the surprised eyes of my cherry blossom. "Wow, I've never seen wild rabbits do that before!" a voice said.

"Maybe it's someone's pet and they lost it," Tohru answered.

"Sakura, don't move, you might scare it away," another girl's voice said.

She didn't move, but looked down at me. Our eyes met and I swear I felt such a connection that my heart stopped beating. She hesitantly raised a hand and slowly brought it on top of my head. I almost sighed in ecstasy as she started petting my head, delicately touching my ears. Her hands were as soft as down feathers. I felt my back leg kick in joy and she jumped a little, startled. I gave her a sympathetic look and her eyes widened. Was I being too un-bunny-like?

Suddenly a pair of hands picked me up and deposited me on the ground. What the hell did Yuki think he was doing? I glared up at him as he said, "We should be careful. It might have rabies."

"It doesn't seem to have rabies," the goddess answered, her voice soft and caring. I had to stop myself from flying back into her arms.

"You never know anymore," Kyo answered. When did he and Yuki decide to side against me? I felt my transformation wearing off and I hopped away from the group, back to my clothes. Why did Yuki have to ruin it? "He was probably jealous that I got to sit in Sakura's lap and he didn't. She'd probably scream and run away if he transformed."

I smiled to myself and walked to Tohru's group in my human form. I smiled at everyone before resting my gaze back on the green-eyed goddess. "Why hello, my name is Momiji Sohma. Are you Sakura?"

"Y-Yes," she answered. "How did you-"?

"I have my ways," I said, silencing her with a finger against her soft lips.

Her cheeks stained a bright red; she turned her eyes and looked to Yuki for… comfort? What the hell? He gave her a brief nod and she turned back to me. "Are you related to Yuki?" she said, her name emphasizing the "Yuki" part.

"Yeah, we're cousins," I answered, hating the fact I was related to such a girly boy.

"That must be nice, coming to school with your family," she assumed, her voice almost wistful.

"Do you have any family?" I asked.

"Um, no. It's just me," she answered, a fake smile adorning her features.

"Aw, that's too bad. Well you can always come to _me_ if you're having trouble with anything."

"T-Thanks," she stuttered, blushing.

"No problem. Do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

"Yes," said Yuki. "We were just about to leave actually."

"We were?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," he answered, shooting an icy-glare in my direction.

"Oh, um, okay. It was nice meeting you, Momiji."

"You too," I replied, smiling.

With her face as red as a tomato she left with everyone else. I noticed how closely Yuki seemed to hover around her… almost protectively. I bit back an angry growl and stared at the lovely backside of my Sakura. I would have to get her alone at some point and have a nice chat about how Yuki was a bastard and she should avoid him. Yes, that would be an excellent idea. I continued to watch the group until Yuki did something very bad. Her gently brushed **my** Sakura's hand with his, and grasped it. They were holding hands. I felt like rushing to her side and saving her from the stupid rat. I should be the one holding her hand. I should be the one whispering gently in her ear. I should be the one… what the fucking hell does that rat think he's doing!? Gently kissing my Sakura on the cheek! He's not allowed to do that! She's mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, I storm after them. When I'm almost close enough to grab Yuki's neck and throttle him, I pause. What am I doing? It wouldn't do well to my plans to have Sakura be afraid of me. No; not at all. I calm myself down and allow them to go to class in one piece. I plan out my next offensive action and smirk. Yuki and Kyo can't do anything about it, if she allows me to be near her.

I patiently waited through the next tedious two hours until the bell rang. Faster than a speeding bullet, I was outside her class waiting. Everyone passed by until Yuki and Sakura exit…together. I gritted my teeth and controlled my fury at Yuki and instead offered a smile to my blossom.

"Hi, Sakura! How was your day?" I chorused.

She looked surprised, but answered, "Fine. How was yours?"

"Great! Although I did miss you."

She laughed, assuming it was a joke (although I was being absolutely truthful). Yuki gives me a ferocious glare and I smirk at him.

"Do you need someone to walk you home, Sakura?" I asked.

"Well, Yuki was going to walk me home, but I guess you could come along."

"Where do you live?"

She labeled the name of an apartment complex near the Sohma residence and I gloated over my next lines. "Oh! That's really close to my house! But, Yuki, you don't live anywhere near there. It'd be an awful long walk for you to get home!"

Yuki shoots me a glare, as Sakura gives him a very concerned look. "Yuki, you don't need to walk me home if you live so far away!"

"It's no problem," he answered.

"I insist that you not walk me home. Momiji is more than enough for that. Thanks for the offer though!"

Yuki gave me a very hateful look and I smiled at him. Yay, I get to walk Sakura home! Yuki took off, looking for Kyo and Tohru most likely, and I was left alone with my flower. "Um, should we get going?" she asked.

"Sure!"

I grabbed her hand forcefully, although not too hard, and we walked off toward her home. We chatted along the way, just a little small talk, and I couldn't help the waves of possessiveness that I exuded. She never let go of my hand and it reminded me of a small child lost somewhere. I felt the overwhelming need to protect her and I walked slightly closer to her.

In a few moments we arrived at her home and she gave me a small smile. "Thanks Momiji. You're great company."

I felt the need to hug her. I knew that I would most likely transform, but it didn't matter. I needed to press my skin against hers. I needed to feel her body with mine. I grasped her arms and held her against my body, waiting for the moment when I would transform. It never came…

"You won't transform," she whispered.

I wanted to ask her a hundred questions at that moment, but instead I held her even closer to my body, feeling her soft, feminine curves. I breathed in her scent and closed my eyes. I couldn't take it any longer. I brought my lips down upon hers and savored the cherry flavor. She was a drug that I was addicted to. She was my brand of heroin.

Mine.

* * *

**Yay for possessiveness! K, I guess I should explain some things now. In certain crossovers Sakura will have certain characteristics that won't change. For example in Bleach crossovers, her zanpaktou will always be the same. In FMA X-overs, she'll always be the Medical Alchemist or her abilities will be the same. So, in FB she will always have this amazing ability to have fluff with the male Zodiac members without them transforming! Why? Because I said so! Otherwise there would be no fluff and that would make me sad. **

**Now, about Sakura's non-transformingness. Well, similar to the Sohma curse, her family has a curse. This curse makes them untterly dependant on the Zodiac members. There are twelve members of the Haruno curse (so Sakura is one such member). Now this curse makes it so that they need their correspoding Sohma member's blood to survive. I know that this is very weird and possibly gross, but anyway- Sakura doesn't like the fact she needs ______'s blood to survive so she refuses and is banished from the clan. The ____ I put is for any future Sohma members. The Sohma family, minus Akito and a few others, doesn't know about this and thinks that their blood donations are just for a blood bank. **

**Questions? Ask them in a review and I'll answer them in the next chapter! Which'll be Bleach! **

**Remember, suggest couples! I live for you guys!**

**Oh, and happy belated V-Day!**


	7. A Meaning

**Rayne Says: Thanks for all of the reviews! They helped me write this chapter so quickly! I really hope you like it. Note: It is an AU/Real World.**

**Read and Review, pwease? **

* * *

**A Meaning**

HitsugayaXSakura

.:Sakura's P.O.V.:.

BEEP

…

BEEP

…

BEEP

….

BE-SMASH!!!

I slam my hand down on my alarm clock furiously and chuck it across my room. Stupid, damn clock. I ruffle a hand through my bubblegum-colored hair (yes, I have natural pink hair, back the fuck off!) and sit up. I open my eyes and allow them to adjust to the streaming sunlight coming through my window. I throw my covers off of my body and jump out of my bed, landing lightly on my feet.

I reach down and touch my toes and then stretch as far up as I can go. I put a hand to my mouth as I yawn and scratch the back of my head. I stumble forward and into my bathroom. Glaring at my reflection, I tear a brush through the messy tangles in my hair, wincing only slightly. I then remember that I need to take a shower and curse the time I wasted brushing my hair. I throw off my clothes and jump into the shower, yelping aloud when the water comes out scalding hot. Cursing Naruto, my noisy neighbor who uses up a lot of the buildings hot water, I scrub my scalp and body ferociously before hopping out of the shower.

I rustle through my closet before choosing a pair of skinny jeans and an icy-blue baby tee. I slip on my black and white Converse All-Stars and pad into my kitchen, tossing some bread into the toaster. I gather all of the things I need for the day and put them in my Hello Kitty bag. I catch the toast just as it pops out with my plate and apply a healthy serving of butter and strawberry jam. I eat my "breakfast" quickly and brush my teeth soon after I finish. I jam my hair up into a messy ponytail, grab my keys, and exit my apartment.

I almost run into Naruto, but manage to avoid any time-wasting dialogue with him that would surely at some point mention the word "ramen". That boy is obsessed ramen. Seriously. I run down the stairs, narrowly avoiding tripping once, and run up to my many-colored VW Van. I hop into the driver's seat and pray that, for once, it doesn't give me any trouble starting up. Today is no different than any other day, because I spend about two minutes trying to start the engine and cursing loudly. Finally, the engine roars to life and I send a prayer to whatever God is watching over me that I make it to work on time.

I speed down the streets (well, not exactly speeding. Just going as fast as my vintage will let me go). I park by the curb in front of a small shop and hastily exit my vehicle. I run into the shop and slide into the counter, breathing heavily.

"Did I make it?" I ask my boss.

"For once you're actually on time," she answers, surprised.

"Yes!"

"That gives you plenty of time to water all of the flowers in the shop," Ino orders, a dangerous smirk lacing her features.

"Aw, come on!"

"You asked for a part-time job," she reminds me.

"But I didn't know that actually meant I had to do work!"

"That's what a job is, Sakura. Work."

"Well it's no fun," I whine.

"It's not supposed to be. Now, water. I'll be doing some arrangements in the back. If a customer comes in, make sure you help them. Okay?"

"Got it," I mutter.

"I hope so, or I'll regret ever hiring you. I know we're friends and all, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give you special treatment."

"I know, Ino. You've told me that a million times before."

"And yet it never seems to get through your thick skull."

She sighs and shakes her head. I flip her off when she turns around and walks into the back of the shop. Sometimes I hate Ino, but most of the time we're the best of friends. Except when I'm in a bad mood and don't want to work. Like today. I huff and search around the shop for the watering can. When I find the bright yellow object (How the hell I missed such a bright thing I'll never know) I fill it to the brim with water and start to walk around the shop. I water all of the purple, yellow, pink, red, and I'm about to move on to the white ones when I hear the shop bell ring.

I close my eyes and pray that it's not some puttering, old lady who will be _very_ particular about what kind of flower she's looking for and said flower will happen to only grow in South America (in case you couldn't tell this has happened before). I slowly turn around and am surprised to find a young-looking guy standing in the doorway, looking a little unsure. He looks about my age, maybe a little older, and he's, well… hot. He's wearing a pair of jeans with the cuffs turned up, like they did back in the fifties, and a black t-shirt. His hair is white, which is pretty odd considering how young he looks (considering I have _pink_ hair, I have no right to judge), and his eyes are teal-green.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

"I'm looking for flowers," he answers coldly.

I feel a tick mark hit my forehead and answer hotly, "Well this is a flower shop. What kind of flowers are you looking for?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"Can you help me?"

I sigh and remember the beautiful necklace that I plan on buying with my paycheck. "Well… who's it for?"

"W-What?"

"I assume that you're buying it for someone else, because if it were for yourself then you would know what you want. Is it for a girl? Family? Or is it an occasion?"

"I-It's for a friend."

"Ah, well then I would suggest a yellow flower, seeing as how yellow is the color of friendship."

"Um, more than a friend?"

"Pink."

"Girlfriend?"

"Now we're getting somewhere. Red."

"Why red?"

"Red is a passionate color. I'd suggest a rose, because it's a classic sign of romance and love. Do you know her favorite color?"

"No."

"Sheesh, what kind of boyfriend are you? I guess we can start with the basics, what's she like?"

"Caring, pretty, and she has a temper."

"That's not helping me much," I complain.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing at all. How about I show you some flowers, tell you what they mean, and you decide whether she might like them or not?"

"I guess that'd be okay," he says hesitantly.

"Let's start over here," I say leading him to the A section. I pick up a flower and show it to him, "Anemone? It means fragile."

"No, she's not fragile."

"How about pink carnation? It means gratitude. Or yellow? That means cheerful."

"The yellow one sounds more like her."

"Okay, so we'll get some of those. What about a delphinium? That means boldness, and she sounds kinda bold to me," I ask.

He nods his head and gets some of those too. He follows after me like a lost puppy as I lead him to another section of flowers. "Freesias are spirited."

"She is most definitely spirited," he answers, smiling winsomely.

"Gingers are proud, gladioluses are strength of character, and hibiscuses are gentle beauty. How about those?"

"All sound like her."

"Then what about hydrangeas? They mean perseverance. And larkspurs mean beautiful spirit."

"I'll get them too," he answers, determined to make the perfect bouquet for his girlfriend. She is seriously one lucky girl. He's willing to buy her an entire bouquet of flowers based on meanings and not their prices or just buy a rose. I envy his girlfriend. Hot and caring? Rarely a combination you see these days.

"Are there any more?" he asks.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah. Sorry, I fazed out. What about these pansies? They mean loving thoughts. Or these ranunculuses? They mean radiant. Or the usual roses."

"I don't think she'd like roses."

"Really?"

"She's not one for tradition."

"She sounds like someone I'd like," I answer, smiling. Although I'd probably fight her for a guy as nice as you! "Would she like a sunflower? They mean adoration. Or a red tulip? They mean a declaration of love. Although a yellow tulip might be better for a girlfriend, because they mean hopelessly in love."

"How about both?"

"You sure do love this girl," I say.

"Yeah I do. Are there any more flowers you think she might like?"

"Well there are violets, which mean faithfulness, but I think those would apply more to you."

"I'll get them anyway," he says.

"Are these all of the flowers you want?"

"Yeah, can you arrange them for me?"

"Any particular way you want me to do them?" I ask.

"You're a lot like her. I think you'll know what she'll like," he says, smiling a beautiful smile.

"Um, okay," I answer, blushing.

I pick out a nice vase and try to think of how to arrange the flowers. I decide to do it somewhat chaotically and just throw them into the vase. I add a few greens and leaves for effect and wrap a red bow around the vase. I put the bouquet on the counter and he smiles as he sees it. "She's going to love it. Thank you, um, what's your name?"

"Sakura Haruno," I answer.

"It's ironic that you work in a flower shop then, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"Thanks," he says, paying for the flowers. "I'll be sure to come here for any flowers I may need in the future. You've been most helpful."

"You're welcome."

He takes the bouquet, cradling it as if his life depends upon its safety. I watch sadly as he walks out of the shop and out to a nice sports car. He turns around and sends me a wave and I return it. I sigh as his car drives away and return to watering the flowers.

By the time lunch rolls around I can't get the white-haired Hottie out of my head. It's driving me crazy! I even forgot to ask the guy his name! Ino walks out the backroom and sends me a smile. I wave a hand at her and continue reading my book.

"You can go on your lunch break now, Sakura," she says. "Can you pick me up something. You know what kind of food I like after all."

"No problem, Ino."

I exit the shop and climb into my metallic monster. I drive around for a while before stopping at a small sandwich store. I go in and buy two subs for me and Ino. I sit down and eat mine slowly, savoring my small reprieve from work.

Finally I get back into my van and drive back to the shop. I hand Ino her sandwich and take my usual spot at the counter, picking up my book and reading where I left off.

…Several hours later…

"Bye Sakura, see you tomorrow!" Ino shouts.

"Bye!"

I drive back to my apartment and climb up the staircase to my room. I take out my keys and unlock the door. I walk into my apartment, dropping my bag on the floor. God, I'm exhausted. I fall onto my bed and am about to fall asleep when…

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Naruto! Stop banging on my damn door!" I say, jumping up, opening my door, and glaring at Naruto.

"Eh, sorry, Sakura. But you see, these came for you and you weren't home so I told the delivery guy I'd give them to you," Naruto spews apologetically.

"Wait? What did the delivery guy drop off?"

"Oh! These!" Naruto says, pulling two vases out from behind his back. I look at them surprised, why would Ino send me some flowers? Or was it… Lee? Please, God, don't let it be Lee. I thought I got rid of him! Nevertheless, I take the vases from Naruto and thank him. I set them down on the table, when a card catches my eye.

I look at the card cautiously in case these are from Lee. It could say something like, "Sakura! Marry me and have youthful children! Youth! Love, Lee!" I shudder and instead look at the bouquet. It looks like a well thought out arrangement, kind of like the sort Ino does, which means that it could be from Ino. I sigh and examine the kinds of flowers in the vase. What I see makes me blush: yellow chrysanthemums- secret admirer, forget-me-nots- remember me forever, jasmines- grace and elegance, lilacs- first love, sweetpeas- shyness, and one red tulip- declaration of love.

This bouquet could definitely be from Lee.

I look at the other bouquet and my brow crinkles in confusion. This looks just like the bouquet I made for that guy today. Every flower is the same and even the red ribbon looks alike. This is crazy… unless…

I tear open the card in a crazed frenzy. I stare blankly at the unfamiliar writing upon it:

_Every flower has a meaning._

_Every meaning is a description,_

_of a flower as beautiful as you._

_Yours truly,_

_Toshiro Hitsugaya_

* * *

**Rayne Says: No, Shiro-kun didn't just randomly decide to give Sakura flowers. It was her all the time. He's been watching her stalker-style fora while and finally decided to make his move. Ino helped him with the second vase. All of the info for the flower meanings is true as far as I know. **

**Please Review? Next up, Vampire Knight! Also: This round I'm adding books, so suggest couples!**


	8. Survivors

**Rayne Says: So here (finally!) is the new chapter for Sakura Ai! The next chapter is going to be Harry Potter/Naruto x-over so suggest couples! I'm going on vacation tomorrow so it won't be up for about a week or so. Thanks for all the nice reviews! This is the VK/N x-over! Read and review!**

* * *

**Survivors**

_ZeroXSakura_

_.:Zero's P.O.V.:._

I sense the air currents shift in the wind and immediately block the projectile aimed for my head. I open my eyes slightly and stare at the object that was meant to hit me. It's a thick textbook- Calculus. "Oi! Lazy-ass, we need to go!"

I raise my head and stare at the figure in the doorway. As if the textbook wasn't enough of a clue, my "nickname" was a dead giveaway. No one else has the guts to call me a lazy-ass. I start at her feet, working my way up. She's wearing the usual pair of boots and long thigh-high socks, with the usual short, black skirt. Her blouse is unbuttoned and her black tie dangles loosely from the collar of her shirt. Her jacket is unbuttoned and her long, pink hair rests over her chest. So today, she's let it loose, huh?

"What time is it?" I ask, ruffling my hair.

"Time to get your ass moving. We have innocents to protect," Sakura Haruno says.

I slowly stand up, knowing that if I don't move any faster, Sakura is going to get pissed and throw something else at me. She starts tapping her foot impatiently and eventually just runs up to me and _grabs_ me by the tie and starts _dragging_ me toward the Moon Dorm. I just let her, knowing that if I struggle she just might pick me up and carry me. Sakura is freaky strong like that.

We finally arrive at the elegant looking building and she finally lets go of me. We're obviously a little bit late, because there's a pretty big group of squealing, screaming fangirls that are struggling to climb over the fence.

"Get your fat asses down from there before I have to!" Sakura shouts at them.

"Oh look, it's her," some of the girls whisper.

You'd think that after having Sakura threaten you with pain and torture every night for the past three months you would learn not to try to climb the fence. She starts rolling up the sleeves to her shirt and I place a hand on her shoulder, just like I do every night. "They're not worth it."

"I know, but that won't stop me from giving them some nice size six bruises."

For being small and short, Sakura is one of the scariest and violent girls I know.

"Headmaster Cross will not be happy if you harm the students. He explained this to you the first night you were here," I remind her.

"I know that too, but they're just asking for a good ass-whooping."

"Sakura," I say, using The Tone.

"Okay fine, no student injuries tonight. But one of these days-"

"Save it for a Level E."

"I will, and he will wish he never drank a drop of blood."

I sigh and remove my hand from her shoulder. She sends me a look of respect, and then returns her gaze to the flock of girls.

"I'm going to count to ten and if you aren't down from there, you're all going to have detention!" she screams.

"You can't do that!" one girl shouts.

"Watch me! 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0!"

As she had been counting, some girls, seeing her very serious face, had started climbing back down the fence. By the time she was done, all but one was off the fence.

"You! Chick with the fake boobs! You have detention!"

"Who said you had the authority to do that?" she replies in a nasally voice.

"Headmaster Cross, you dumb-butt. Now get down so I can send you back to the Sun Dorm!"

The girl did an over exaggerated sigh and clumsily came down. She murmured some very nasty comments in Sakura's direction, to which Sakura kept upping her detention days. By the time the girl was gone, it was obvious that Sakura was in a pretty bad mood. The other girls file into their respective rows, while Sakura and I nod toward each other. So begins what Sakura refers to as… Fang Frenzy.

I have to agree with her though; normal people have a slight natural fear of the vampires. Even though they may be beautiful, people should fear them, but they don't.

All heads turn toward the gates as they open, ever so slowly, building anticipation. And then _they_ slowly walk down the aisle provided by the anxious onlookers—the vampires, otherwise known as the Night Class.

I can tell that Sakura is even more peeved by the fact the Night Class seems to be enjoying the human attention they are receiving. I see the classic tick mark appear on Sakura's forehead as she watches Aido flirt with a Day Class girl. "Pretty boy, get to class before I kick your ass!"

"Ah, a poet are we now, Miss Sakura-chan?" he replies.

"No, and when did I ever give you permission to call me chan?

"You didn't," he says, smirking.

"Get to class before I complain to Headmaster Cross," she says.

"All complaints against the Night Class should be given to me," a voice says behind Aido.

I turn toward Kaname and spy _her_, the girl who I used to love. She looks as beautiful as ever, even though she's a monster… like me. Even though we are of the same kind now, we've grown distant. She spends most of her time with Kaname or with Aido and Kain, her unofficial bodyguards.

"Well then, tell Aido her to stay away from the Day Class girls," Sakura replies. "I think I've filed this complaint at least twenty times now and it still hasn't been dealt with."

"Then it will be dealt with this time," he says, and both Sakura and I can tell he's lying.

"Hey Zero, how are you?" an angelic voice says. I turn my eyes toward Yuuki and give her an icy glare.

"How do you think I'm doing?" I reply.

She flinches as though I've struck her and I almost feel guilty for what I said. _Almost_.

"I'm sorry you feel that way then," she answers softly.

She grasps Kaname's arm and together they walk toward the classrooms. The rest of the Night Class follows soon after and the fangirls start to disperse. When they're all gone, Sakura walks toward me and sighs.

"You need to get over her," she states.

"I know."

"She's never going to love you back."

"I know."

"You're hopeless."

"I know."

"You're a fairy princess."

"I kn- hey, not funny!"

"Get out of this funk you're in and move on. They're plenty of Day Class girls who would go out with you."

"They'd go out with a monster?"

"Only the crazy ones," she replies.

"I happen to only like sane girls."

"That sucks for you."

We start walking the rounds, until we reach the spot where we split up. She walks out toward the open forest, while I keep close to the school. I stare through the window at Yuuki and remember all of the times we had together. I stand up and walk away from the building, hoping to meet up with Sakura. At least she's decent company.

Sakura Haruno had been Yuuki's replacement after she was moved into the Night Class. She was a vampire hunter, and while I had underestimated her at first, she'd proven that she could be lethal against a vampire. We'd been assigned a group mission to assassinate a dangerous Level E and she'd managed to behead the vampire before I could even fire my Bloody Rose. You just had to respect that in a girl.

I walk around the forest, looking for the familiar pink head of my partner, but couldn't find it. I then stretched out my vampire senses and listened for any disturbances in the brushes. If she had been attacked, surely there'd be some noise, right? I finally single out a small noise that almost sounds like… crying?

I run toward the sound, worried about Sakura. When I arrive at the place the sound had seemed to come from, I don't see her. My heart races and I quickly glance around the area. I spy a small flash of pink and walk toward a large bush. I move aside branches and leaves until I come face to face with a crying, uninjured, Sakura.

Her eyes widen at the sight of me and she quickly wipes away her tears. She stands up and tries to run away from me, but I catch her arm. "Sakura?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Don't worry about me, Zero."

"Who said I was worried?" I ask.

"You did when you ran all the way here when you heard me crying."

"You know me so well."

"Can we just get back to work?" she asks, her voice small.

"Just tell me what's wrong," I say.

She stays silent for a minute or more before whispering, "Today's the anniversary."

Oh.

Immediately I pull her small, quivering form into my arms and hold her to me. I put my hand on her head and start running my fingers through her hair. I feel her reservations break as my shirt becomes wet from her tears. "I-I'm s-sorry," she stutters.

"Don't be," I murmur.

She glances up at me from tear-stained eyes and as I gaze into them I feel something move in me. The world sharpens into one focus—Sakura. I move down and slowly press my lips onto hers, timidly. She responds by kissing me back with such desperation and longing that I'm surprised she hasn't drowned in her sorrows. Her lips move against mine and we stand there, my arms forming a cage of protection around her, as we share a moment of passion.

Finally we break apart and I notice a light blush on her porcelain cheeks. With my thumb, I brush away all of her tears. "Thank you," she says quietly.

"Think nothing of it," I say, kissing her again.

"I needed that," she replies.

"People like us need to stick together," I say.

"Like us?"

"Survivors," I reply, entwining my fingers in hers.

"Survivors," she agrees.

* * *

**I know it wasn't explained, but, similar to Zero, Sakura's family was killed by vampires. That's why she was so depressed. I think it's cute how Zero comforted her. This is, so far, my favorite kiss scene. Please review!**


	9. The Tutor

**Rayne Says: HELLZ YAH! UPDATE! Gosh, I thought I wasn't ever going to work on this story. Ever! I've been real lazy all this summer and now school has started, but I randomly read all your reviews and it made me feel warm and fuzzy. Also, I figure I'm probably one of the few people who has written a Sakura X-Over Oneshot Series. Crazy, huh? Thanks to my reviewers who remain faithful (despite the fact I'm not faithful with my updates). I love you guys so much! This chappie is dedicated to you all! This is the promised Harry Potter chapter.**

* * *

_**The Tutor**_

_DracoXSakura_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V:._

Helping myself to some pumpkin juice, I couldn't help but sigh. When had living at Hogwarts gotten to be so tedious and boring? I missed the days when every day seemed like a new adventure—and I'm only in my fifth year!

I glare at my toast, blaming it for all my misfortune. Unfortunately, my anger makes the toast catch fire and I quickly put it out. I push my plate away and wish that something exciting would happen. Of course, nothing exciting happens in Hufflepuff house, with the exception of Cedric Diggory making it into the Triwizard Tournament. It's such a pity that he died.

I take another sip of my drink and set it down a little too harshly. Some of the other people at the table stare at me, clearly thinking I'm mad. No one in my house really seems to like me, at least not enough to try to be my friend. I'm the smart girl, the one who answers the questions and gets us points in class. Hermione Granger from Griffindor gets all the credit for being the "smartest witch of the age" or some other kind of blarney. I'm smart, but I don't jump around like a buffoon to answer questions. I'm a quiet genius.

Speaking of Griffindor, I look over to their table to spy some drama going on with the Potter boy. He's a funny one if you ask me. I have no right to judge, but he seems to be off his rocker most of the time. We shared a class one year and I have to say he doesn't seem to have much talent when it comes to spells. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

I feel someone's eyes on me and look past the Griffindor table to the Slytherin one. I'm surprised to find Draco Malfoy _staring _at me, with no intention of looking away it seems. He twitches his head to the side, and I'm smart enough to know that he wants to have a chat with me outside of the Great Hall. I stand up and gather my things, heading for the entrance. A few moments later, he joins me outside. He starts walking away and I follow him, figuring that he wants to go somewhere private so he won't be seen in the company of a mudblood such as myself. We walk for a ways before he stops and turns to me.

"Is your hair naturally pink?" he asks.

"If that's all you wanted to know, why the need for secrecy?"

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"There's no magic involved?"

"As far as I know, there is not."

"Oh."

"What do you want, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Call me Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy is my father."

"Very well, Malfoy, what do you want."

He mumbles something incoherent and I look at him. "Excuse me, could you speak a little louder?"

"I need a tutor."

"Can't one of your Slytherin pals help you then?" I question.

"There aren't any mudbloods in Slytherin."

"Oh? Then how can this mudblood help you then?"

I dully noted the surprise in his eyes when I referred to myself by that foul name and put up no fight to him calling me by it.

"I need help with Muggle Studies," he answers.

"You take Muggle Studies?"

"It's a requirement. It was that or Ancient Runes."

"And you took Muggle Studies, why? I thought you hated muggles?"

"It seemed easier."

"And it's not?"

"I don't understand some of the curriculum."

"Hmm, and you need my assistance because my parents are muggles, am I correct? And you don't want to ask that Granger girl because it would be a blow to your pride and you know she would never let you forget it?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I will help you, but I expect some payment in return."

"What kind of payment?" he asks suspiciously.

"The monetary kind. I want at least a sickle per lesson."

"That's a bit much."

"Being a muggle isn't easy. You're going to have to learn how they live without magic. I bet you've never gone a day without using your wand."

After seeing the look on his face I answer, "So you haven't."

"That doesn't matter. When can we begin?"

"Whenever you wish. I really couldn't care less."

"Tonight?"

"Okay. Where shall we meet? I'm guessing the Slytherin common room would be a horrible idea."

"It would. There's an empty classroom on the third floor. Meet me there at ten o'clock."

"As you wish."

I watch as Malfoy walks back to the Great Hall and I let loose a breath of air I hadn't know I'd been holding. I'm going to teach Draco Malfoy, Pureblood Prince of Slytherin, how to be a muggle? The very idea is laughable, but it appears to be happening. Or maybe this is some cruel joke and the Slytherins are going to do something dreadful to me? Well, if it comes to that, I'll just hex them and ruin their pretty little faces.

I walk to my common room and sit down in front of the fire, warming my bones. I can't imagine what the Slytherin common room must be like. It's in the dungeons, so it must be dreadfully cold and damp. I sink into the large and cushiony chair and feel my eyelids droop ever so slowly, until they slide closed and I fall asleep.

I am jolted awake by a shiver that runs down my body from head to toe. Shaking in the now cold room, I look at the big grandfather clock on the wall. It's nearly ten o'clock! I run out of the common room, and quickly mutter a spell for invisibility so that Filch won't see me. I pass by Ms. Norris and hold my breath, knowing that she might see me. She looks directly at me and utters a soft meow. I make myself appear and she doesn't appear startled at all. I hold out my hand to her and beckon her forward, hoping she understands the gesture. She does.

She walks to me and rubs her head against my palm, and I allow a few of my precious minutes to be spent petting her. She seems to like having someone besides Filch giving her attention. I'm only able to escape when I promise her a treat. I run down the halls and arrive at the classroom we agreed on precisely on time. I take a deep breath and open the door, coming face to face with a wand pointed directly at my temple.

"Um, Malfoy? It isn't in the best curteousy to greet your tutor with your wand," I say quickly.

He lowers his wand and turns away from me. I sigh and close the door behind me, preparing for a long lesson. He sits down at a desk and gestures to the seat across from him.

"So what part of the curriculum are you having trouble with?" I ask.

"Elecneurotics."

"Do you mean _electronics_?"

"Yes, those things."

"What's so difficult about them?"

"I don't understand how they work," he huffs, crossing his arms.

"They run on electricity."

"That too. I don't get it."

"You don't know what electricity is?"

"No, why would I? I'm a wizard. I don't need muggle technoflogery."

"Technology. And every wizard should know about it. It makes it easier to blend in with the muggles if you know how their society and world work. They don't have magic to do anything with."

"I can't imagine it."

"Not living without magic? It's actually easy once you get used to it."

"You've done muggle work?"

"I thought I was a muggle for eleven years- well an abnormal one anyway- so yes."

"Well then it can't be that hard if _you_ can do it."

"Insulting me won't help you learn, Malfoy."

"You have a point, but it does make me happier."

"Insulting other people makes you happy? Then you must be depressed in those moments when you aren't making others lives miserable."

"No I'm not, mudblood."

"Telling my I have dirty blood isn't going to change your grade in Muggle Studies. For now, can you forget that I'm a mudblood and you're a pureblood, and can we just get to work?"

"Fine."

"Very well. Electricity is the foundation of all muggle electronics. Without it there would be no telephones, television, or even lights-"

Malfoy interrupts, "What's television?"

"It's a box with moving pictures that entertains muggles. It's similar to the wizard pictures."

"Oh. And they find moving pictures _entertaining_?"

"Well, yes. They also are accompanied by sound and a story. There are things called T.V., that's short for television, shows and they tell stories with plots. Or there's news, which informs the muggles of what's happening everyday. Or game shows where muggles compete for prizes or money. Or…"

"I get it, there are a lot of television shows," he says.

"Oh, okay. So, anyways, electricity works everything in the muggle world. Without it almost all technology wouldn't work…"

Our lesson continues on well into the early morning, and it is only at about one that Malfoy declares he is done for the night and that he will see me next week. He gives me the sickle and walks out, leaving me alone in the classroom. I stifle a yawn and almost forget the invisibility spell. I stumble into the common room and climb the stairs. I fall into my bed and immediately fall asleep.

* * *

Malfoy's lessons were going well and I can see the changes in him. He seems to have a newfound respect for muggles and he actually developed a fascination with the muggle CD players. He said that the old record player his father owned sounded terrible and that he would acquire one once school got out. I could only smile.

However, his behavior away from me was the same as always. He called me a mudblood every time I accidentally ran into him or shared the same air. I didn't think anything of it, if anything I believed it was all an act and that the person he was when he was having lessons with me was the real Malfoy.

It was going on our sixth week of lessons, when I noticed the real changes. I was explaining to him how toaster ovens worked when I caught him staring at me. Well, of course he was staring at me- I was teaching him- but the look he gave me wasn't exactly the kind of look I was expecting to see. For one thing, Malfoy was blushing! For another, the second I caught him staring he instantly became fascinated with the toaster and asked if he could take it apart so he could look at the parts.

When that particular study session was over, he said that the work in class had doubled and that he would have to see me twice a week now. I was fine with this, of course, but a little surprised. He seemed to be getting it, so why would he need more help from me? I could only accept the extra sickle a week with question.

* * *

I find myself staring at my pumpkin juice for the nth time this morning. Sighing, I take another sip and set it back down. I finally relinquish my iron will and allow myself to look across the hall and search for the familiar white hair of Malfoy. I find it relatively quickly and am surprised to find him staring back at me. He mouths the word "Tonight" and nods his head. I can only dumbly nod back, figuring that he's made some kind of plans with his mates or something on the night we usually do our sessions.

He looks away and I go back to staring at my pumpkin juice.

* * *

"Ms. Haruno?" a slightly nasally voice calls.

"Huh?" I say, breaking out of my stupor.

"Would you kindly tell the class the spell to split things?" Professor McGonagall asks.

"_Diffindo_," I answer.

"Correct. Five points to Hufflepuff."

She moves on to another student and I chastise myself for not paying attention. In fact… I look down at the paper I'd been absent-mindedly writing on. Oh dear. I note the fact I'd drawn a heart, but I also note (with horror) that I'd scrawled Malfoy's name. I sigh and crumble the paper up and bury it in my bag. Professor McGonagall dismisses class and I stand up and exit the room along with everyone else. I accidentally knock into someone's shoulder as I'm walking and I turn to apologize, only to find myself staring at Gregory Goyle, Malfoy's mate. He grunts and moves to grab his wand, but a smooth white hand grasps his wrist and stops him. I dumbly meet Malfoy's eyes and he nods his head at me. "She's not worth it, Goyle."

Goyle grunts again (can he even speak?) and steps behind Malfoy. "Goyle, go to the common room. I'll take care of it."

He nods his head and lumbers away. I watch him go, and my heart rate picks up. What is Malfoy going to do? He said he was going to take care of me. Is he going to hex me?

"You should be more careful next time. If I wasn't there, he would have cursed you."

Huh?

"I'll see you tonight, mudblood," Malfoy says, walking away.

Wait? The way he said mudblood sounded different than usual. It almost sounded… endearing? No way. That's just crazy. He hates me, right? He's only using me to pass his class. Malfoy liking me would be like the Dark Lord hugging bunnies and kissing babies. Impossible.

I sigh and walk to my common room, deciding to take a short nap before the lesson tonight. I slide under my covers and close my eyes, slowing my breathing and drifting away into a dreamland.

Waking up, I quietly move around the room, grabbing some things for tonight's lesson. I leave the common room, and am shortly thereafter stopped by Ms. Norris who I give a treat. She purrs contently and allows me to pet the top of her head before continuing on my way.

I knock on the door before entering, as had become a custom so Malfoy wouldn't hold a wand to my face every night. I close the door behind me and look into his eyes. Something seems different tonight. It doesn't matter. I set down my things and take the seat across from him as usual.

Launching into my lesson, I can almost feel a certain electric current in the air and it's making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I push these crazy feelings to the back of my mind.

The lesson goes as usual; with me teaching and Malfoy asking the occasional question. When it's over, I gather all my materials and wait for Malfoy to stand up. He doesn't. I quirk an eyebrow in question. "Malfoy?"

He sits silently, looking like a rock, with his hands balled and a look of frustration across his visage. I gently put my hand on his shoulder, and suddenly he's crushing me against a wall.

"What have you done?" he yells.

"What do you mean?"

"You must have done something, said a spell or something…" he mutters.

"What did I do?"

"You must've…"

"I must've done what?"  
"You slipped me a love potion didn't you? I know you're crafty enough to do it, but why?"

"Huh? Malfoy, I've never even made a love potion! What are you talking about?"

"Making… me… feel this way," he huffs, his face dangerously close to mine.

"What are you talking about? Have you gone mad?" I ask.

"I want you."

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me. _I_. _Want_. _You_," Malfoy whispers right next to me. His breath sending shivers down my spine. I suddenly feel very warm. So very warm. Suddenly, he nips my ear and I gasp in surprise. Next thing I know, his lips are pressed to mine.

I'm stuck in shock before deciding that I actually rather like what he's lips are doing to me, and I begin kissing him back. Although, now that I think about it… I've never snogged anyone before! Malfoy is my first kiss! Oh Lord!

His lips leave mine, and I take this moment to breathe while his lips move down my neck, making me breathe harder and harder. He suddenly nips my neck and I gasp. He returns to my lips and passionately continues his ministrations. His slightly cold hand suddenly touches my feverish back and I gasp. He takes this opportunity to put his tongue in my mouth. I snog back with all the inexperience I have, hoping that I'm not doing too badly of a job.

Taking his lips off mine, Malfoy backs away from me and stares at me. "You didn't give me a love potion," he says; as if it's all suddenly clear to him.

"Um, no," I breathe.

"So then what just happened?"

"I don't know."

"I think we just snogged."

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

"We snogged a lot," he smirks. "You're not too bad."

"That was my first time," I say blankly.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"What do we do now?" I ask. "I mean, I don't think we can continue your lessons if we're going to be snogging most of the time."

"Oh, about that. I dropped out of Muggle Studies about four weeks ago. I took up Divination. That's easy."

"Wait? You dropped out, but kept studying with me?"

"Yeah."

"You like me," I comment.

"Well, if what just happened isn't a flaming sign, then yeah. I kinda do."

"Okay. Now what? I don't have anything to teach you if you're not taking Muggle Studies."

"Well, I have a lot to teach you. If you were that good of a snogger on your first time, think how good you're going to be when I'm done with you!"

"Wait? Are you offering me _snogging_ lessons?"

"Yeah, and I'm not even going to make you pay for them," he smirks.

"I don't know…"

"Did you like what just happened?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so."

"Then I can make that feeling a hundred times better if you become my student."

"I'm not going to contract any diseases am I?"

"No! Why would you?" he asks, surprised.

"You have snogged Pansy, have you not?"

"Actually, contrary to popular belief- I haven't."

"Oh."

"So, what'll it be?"

I pick up my bag, sling it over my shoulders, and pause as I walk by Malfoy. I give him a hard kiss on the lips and say, "I'll see you next week then, Malfoy."

"Call me Draco," he says, pulling me to him.

"Okay, Professor Draco," I murmur in between kisses.

It appears as though I'm going to have to stay after class…

* * *

**Whoo! I just wrote my first hot and heavy (for me) make-out scene! Hell yah! Also, ironically, Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" was playing while I wrote that. Hehe. **

**What did you guys think? Is it as good as the other chapters, or am I out of touch?**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Death Note! (I already know what's going to happen, but I'm not going to tell you the couple). Haha. **

**Review, please? Or else? **

**P.S. Isn't Draco just smexii!?**


	10. Next Contestant

**Rayne Says: Yay! Two updates back to back-ish! I love how ya'll reviewed super quick! Love ya guys! Here's the promised Death Note chappie. No, it does not have spoilers. This is set during Volume 1 or a little after. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Next Contestant**_

_LightXSakura_

_.:Light's P.O.V.:._

I stared at the neat rows that stood before me on the college-ruled notebook paper. The names. The "victims". My victims. They call me a killer, but what I am doing is justice. I am justice.

They don't understand that what I am doing is good. I am cleansing the world of all that is bad. I am taking away all the bad apples and leaving only ripe ones. Oops, bad metaphor- now Ryuk wants an apple… _again_. I sigh and dig into my desk for the spare fruit that I keep there for slips such as these. Who would have thought that a shinigami would be addicted to apples? It's quite ridiculous really.

I sigh and put away the Death Note into its safe little compartment. I've lost count of all the killers I've killed. Ha. I guess I'm a murderer of murderers. It's not too bad of a title. Although Kira doesn't sound too bad either. I have an audience- a following- and they wish me to bring justice to the world. I am their God. I am God.

"Light, sweetie! You'd better hurry or you're going to be late to school," my mother calls.

"Ryuk, stay here today. I don't want any distractions."

"Do I get an apple if I do?" he asks.

"Sure, just stay here and keep quiet."

"Fine."

I pick up my knapsack and sling it over my shoulders. I pass by mother and give her a kiss on the cheek. I wonder if she knows that her son is a murderer? Heh, she would never even imagine such a thing.

Arriving at the school, I hear whispers among different groups about Kira and all the murders. A few people stop and ask me what I think about them. I tell them what they want to hear. Imagine what they would say if they knew I was Kira? Ha, they would shrink in terror and bow down to me! As long as I have the Death Note, I am unstoppable!

Something hits my shoulder and I look up to spy a pink head passing by me. I-It's _her_! She turns around and quickly says sorry before walking away. I watch her go and feel my heart pump furiously. I never thought I would see her so soon. I could have sworn she would still be the hospital for another two weeks. The pneumonia most have gone away faster than the doctors said it would. I haven't had time to prepare for this! Ugh, I hate being caught off guard.

I continue to my class, evaluating everything that just happened. Why did it have to be today of all days? Why did she have to come back _today_?

…Sakura Haruno, the smartest girl in her class- in the school even. The only girl who can even think to match wits with me. The gorgeous pink-haired goddess of Japan with captivating eyes of green and a fiery temper.

I wonder what she thinks of Kira?

The whole day passes by in a blur and I can't even begin to get my mind off of her. I find myself looking for her every chance I get, but to no avail. Where is she? Finally, I manage to spy her locked in the arms of _another man_. Of course, this man is her boyfriend of one year and five months- Rock Lee. I will never know what she sees in the caterpillar-eyebrowed freak. She's smiling her beautiful smile that she should only smile for me! Me and me alone! I find my fingers reaching into my bag for the Death Note, only to remember that I left it at home today. I grit my teeth in frustration and count to ten to try to calm myself.

I succeed but am still unable to draw my eyes away from the couple. That should be me holding her! Only I am good enough for her! Only a god is fit for this goddess, and I am that god. I am Kira and that _Rock Lee_ is a nobody! He is not fit to hold such beauty in his arms. He has nothing to give her, while I can give her the world! I will be the king of the world and she shall be my queen! Nobody, not even this bowl-cut-wearing freak, is going to stop that goal from happening. Nobody.

The bell rings and I return to class. I try to concentrate on my work, but keep replaying the horrific picture in my head. How can I get that Rock freak out of the picture without it being obvious? How can I annihilate him? I feel a smile creep across my face as an idea comes into my mind and settles down. It is a brilliant idea. I intend to make it come true.

I arrive back at home, the plan running throw my mind again and again like a movie. I say a quick hello to my mother and give Ryuk his apple before taking the Death Note out.

"Who're ya gonna kill today?"

"Someone who shouldn't have touched something of _mine_," I seethe.

"Huh? What are ya talking about kid?"

"Nothing, Ryuk. Just eat your apple."

"Okay. Okay. But if something goes wrong…"

"Nothing will go wrong. There is no way this plan can fail."

I smile as I pull out a pen and write down the fateful words in the notebook.

_Rock Lee_

_December 12, 2003_

_Car accident. Rock Lee goes for a drive in his car at 3:20 P.M. alone. _

_He drives for twenty minutes before losing control of the vehicle. He smashes head on into a tree and dies on impact. Dies at 3:42 P.M of the same day. _

The next morning, I arrive at school with a smile on my face. The smile lasts until the announcement blares over the intercom that Rock Lee died in a fatal car crash yesterday. I allow the smile to fall away, hidden behind a mask of pain. It won't do for people to think I'm not sad at the loss of a classmate. Besides, Sakura is going to be devastated.

During break, I search for the pink-haired beauty and find her being consoled by her circle of friends. There are tear streaks down her cheeks and she looks really upset. I start to walk over to her, to also comfort her, before I stop myself. No, my idea of comfort isn't right at a time like this. Wait. Wait for the right moment to confess. Telling her that she belongs to you is a bad idea after the death of her boyfriend. Even if the boyfriend had no right to be dating her without your permission.

…Several days later…

"Hey Yagami, did you see the scores yet?"

"No, I haven't," I reply, already knowing that I'm in the top.

"Well, you should!"

I sigh and say that I will, even though I really could care less. With Rock Lee out of the way, all I have to do is wait for the right moment to claim Sakura as mine. I walk down the hallway and spy a group of students staring at the scores. Among them I spy a head full of pink hair. I smile to myself and intrude upon the group. I easily spy my name at the top of the sheet, and Sakura's below mine. It seems fitting in a way.

"Hey congratulations, Sakura! You did great," an annoying blonde boy shouts, throwing his arm around MY Sakura and giving her a kiss on the cheek. I feel my eyes narrow and my body tense and I almost dart forward and grab him, but I pull myself back. I watch the scene, wanting to see what Sakura is going to do.

"Oh, hey Naruto. Thanks," she says slowly.

"Do you wanna go out for ramen later? To celebrate? It doesn't have to be a date you know, but if you want it to…"

"I don't know, Naruto. Lee's dead and I dunno if I'm ready to move on yet."

"Come on Sakura. He wouldn't want you to be sad. He'd want you dancing around screaming about youth and smiling. Not being all depressed."

"I guess you're right," she says, obviously thinking it over in her head. "Yeah, I'll go with you. 7:00 at Ichiraku's?"

"Yeah!"

They walk off together and I feel the pencil in my hand snap. A date? With that dumb, idiotic, childish boy? He's just as bad as Rock Lee! If not worse! I stalk off to class, and make a plan to make sure that I'm going to know exactly what goes on on that date.

"Ryuk, I want you to follow someone for me."

"What? Why?"

"They're threatening me, and I want to see how dangerous they are but I can't let them know I'm watching them."

"Sure, as long as I get a dozen apples in return?"

"Deal."

"What does he look like?"

I show him Naruto Uzumaki's yearbook picture. He nods his head and disappears. That leaves with a good two hours of nothing to do. Well, I suppose I could kill off some more criminals…

Two hours and twenty heart attacks later…

"Hey kid. That had to be the most boring two hours of my life! Why did ya want me to watch some kids on a date anyway? That blond kid doesn't seem like any kind of threat- he seems kinda stupid actually-"

"Ryuk. What happened? Tell me everything."

"They ate ramen. They went for a walk-"

"Did they hold hands?"

"Well, yeah. Anyways, he dropped the chick off at home, they kissed for a minute or two and then he went on his merry way."

"He **kissed** her? On the lips?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you have the hots for the chick? I think her hair color is fake. I mean, who has pink hair?"

"Ryuk. Here are your apples. Shut up."

"Someone's cranky."

I tap my pencil on the desk, trying to think of a way to kill the Uzumaki kid without causing a ruckus. Of course, he could just… _disappear_. I smirk to myself and open the Death Note to a blank page. I sharpen my instrument of death (A.K.A. a pencil) and tap it once on the paper before writing down Uzumaki's fate.

_Naruto Uzumaki _

_December 17, 2003_

_At 6:30 A.M. he leaves his home and drives to the nearest lake. He rents a small boat and takes it out to the middle of the lake. He jumps into the water and has a sudden heart attack. He sinks into the water. He dies on the same day._

The next morning, I look for Naruto Uzumaki at school but he's not there. This means that by now he's dead. My beautiful flower appears to be a little sad that he's not here, but it means nothing. I watch her every second I can.

Days pass and the Uzumaki boy has still not showed up at school and people seem to be worried about where he is. Sakura in particular. The police have organized a small search of the area to see if they can find him. They won't.

Weeks pass and Uzumaki has been pronounced missing. I find myself feeling happier every day because soon I shall claim Sakura. I'm giving her the time she needs. When her time is up then I will let her know who I am. Who I really am. I cannot lie to my future queen after all. I smirk to myself, knowing that in two days her time is up.

* * *

Today is the day and I feel jittery and excited. She will be mine today. Mine forever and always.

When the bell rings, I follow her. I know that she walks home after school each day. She takes a turn that does not lead to her home and instead goes toward the cemetery. She couldn't really be visiting the corpse of that freak, could she? She crouches down in front of the stone and lays her head on her knees. I hear her almost silent sobs as she whispers, "I miss you."

I wait for her to leave and it's almost two hours later when she does. I continue to follow her, knowing that it's going to be dark soon. She hustles up the streets, her arms wrapped around her small body- trying to stay warm in this cold weather. Suddenly, an arm bolts out of an alley and grabs her. She manages to let out a small scream before a meaty hand covers her mouth. Her legs flail and she tries to kick her abductor. I feel my temper rising.

How dare someone try to take her from me? How dare they touch her soft and delicate lips with their filthy hands!

I pull out the Death Note and try to recognize the person who's holding her. I move closer to the man, knowing every second I waste is another he's touching what's mine. Moving into the light, I position myself so that the man can see me. "Hey, let her go!"

"What are ya gonna do kid? Huh?"

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Ha! Like I'm gonna tell ya that!"

"Tell me and I'll let you live."

"What the hell do ya mean?" he shouts.

"I won't kill you if you tell me your name."

"Like some kid could kill me! I'm Zurobachi Tomogato! I'm invincible!"

"Thank you," I whisper, quickly scribbling his name down.

"What the hell are ya doin'? Colorin'?"

"Ten…Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…Five…Four…Three…Two…One!"

His arm slumps and his body falls down, Sakura going down with him. She wrestles out of his limp arms and I help her stand.

"W-What just happened?" she asks.

"I think he's dead," I answer blankly.

"B-But how? I mean, he was alive and now he's dead? Stuff like that just doesn't happen!"

"It just did."

"But… oh my God. I almost got raped. If you hadn't been here, I…"

"Sssshhh, it's okay. I'm here," I say, wrapping her in my arms. I savor the feeling of holding her delicate frame and I can feel the fast beating of her heart.

She tries to escape my arms, "Hey, thanks and all. But I don't think I know you, so can you please let go?"

"I'm Yagami Light."

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. You look different in the light. Now I'm even more grateful that you saved me. What can I do to repay you?"

"Give me your life," I answer.

"What? That's ridiculous."

"A life for a life. I killed him to save you, so without me you wouldn't be alive."

"What? Light, you're making no sense."

"I killed him."

"B-But you didn't! He just died suddenly, like he had a heart… oh my God. You're Kira," she says.

"Smart girl. I am. So I can kill you anytime I want to if you don't go along with my desires. You belong to me- now and forever."

I watch a single tear fall from her right eye and I slowly wipe it away with my finger. Her eyes widen and she backs away from me, until her back hits the brick wall.

"Where will you go, Sakura? If you try to run, I can kill you anywhere you go."

"I-I'm not going to run," she sighs. "You're right. You saved my life. The least I can do is give you mine in return."

"I'm glad that you see reason," I say, moving toward her. She shivers and I smirk in the darkness. "You look cold. I think I can help with that."

I press my body against hers and lower my lips onto hers. I kiss her passionately and let her know with my body how much I want her. Moving my lips away from hers for a moment, I kiss my way down her neck before biting into the tender flesh of her collarbone. She whimpers in pain and I taste the soft copper of her blood. I lick it up, trying to heal some of her pain with pleasure. She makes a soft mewling sound in the back of her throat and I kiss the mark I've placed on her skin. I return to her lips and abuse them with mine, wanting her to feel how much I desire her.

"You are mine," I whisper against her lips.

"I am yours," she replies softly.

"Forever…"

"And always," she murmurs, kissing me softly.

…Forever and always…

* * *

**Rayne Says: I DIDN'T LIKE IT! *sobs* I dun know why, but I didn't like it! Did you like it? Hate it? I swear the next time I write a LightXSakura it'll be better! Who could love a psycho mass murderer anyways! L! Now who couldn't love L? He's adorable! **

**Anyways, next chappie is TWILIGHT! Suggest a couple! Pwease? **

**Review 'cause I love you and write stories for your enjoyment... and 'cause I updated twice in less than a week!**


	11. Blood Singer

Rayne Says: Hey guys! It's been ages! Well since it's now summer I will have more time to write and come up with new chappies! This is the Twilight chapter I promised but…well…I was a bad girl and didn't go with any of your suggestions. So, nope. No Jasper, Jacob, Edward, Riley, or anyone. :/ Sorry, but I was bitten by the muse bug (nasty little pest). I recently read Stephenie Meyer's new book The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I loved it! Bree is a way better character than Bella in my opinion. Anyways, in the story there was a character named Fred. I chose him as my boy this time. I highly recommend the book- even if you're sick of Twilight by now. It'll make you like it again; trust me. Anyways, Fred was on of the newborns that Victoria created. He left the group before their battle with the Cullens. This chapter takes place after Breaking Dawn so if you haven't read it- THERE ARE SPOILERS! I HAVE WARNED YOU! This is my longest chapter of Sakura Ai so far and I think this is my best. Enjoy!

Blood Singer

_FredXSakura_

_.:Fred's P.O.V.:._

I crouched down on the rooftop silently eyeing my prey. I took in a deep breath (although it wasn't necessary) and inhaled the delicious scent of clean human blood. Originally, I had been taught only to kill the dregs of society by Riley, but now that I was free of that hellish "coven" I figured I could hunt however I wanted to. I'd been killing gradually over the past few weeks, trying not to gain attention. Moving from city to city was the safest as far as I could see, to remain unnoticeable. Bree had been right; the only way the humans hadn't noticed the existence of vampires before must be because of stealth and secrecy.

The wind changed, directing the scent directly into me. It was like a jackhammer to my face because immediately all rational thoughts vanished from my mind. I silently leapt from the roof and flew through the air, landing silently behind the lone girl. Quickly grabbing her by the hair and dragging her back into an alley, I bit into her neck to silence any sound she might have made. I drank deeply, savoring the sweet taste of her blood. I felt is rush into my mouth, the sweetest acid, cooling the fire in my throat as it traveled down. After a while, I stood there, holding the limp girl in my hands. I stared down at her, wondering what kind of life she had lived. What kind of life I had now taken her from.

Blood matted around her neck, coating her dark blond curls. I bent down and licked it off, taking care of the remainder in a matter of moments. When I finished with that delightful task, I carefully held her body in my arms and ran. It didn't take me long to find a suitable place to bury her. I stopped just at the edge of a wide river and dove in with barely a pause. Swimming down, I found a large boulder and hefted it onto my shoulder. I threw the dead girl underneath it, and resettled the rock on top of her. Bolting back up, I burst through the surface. I slowly swam back to shore, not really in any hurry.

Shaking my blonde hair like a dog, I decided to make a detour before going back to my current hideout. I ran silently through the deserted streets until I reached one of those chain bookstores. After opening the rooftop latch, I entered the room quietly and strolled through the rows of books. Bree had gotten me addicted to reading. I hadn't read much when I was human. I picked up a new book from an author that I was fond of and placed it inside of a backpack I'd stolen earlier during the night. Grabbing several other books, I skimmed the description before deciding if they were worth it. By the end of my little spree, I'd acquired ten new books. I'm not much of a picky reader.

I ran back to my hideout. An empty house whose owners were off on some vacation from what I could tell. I dropped the backpack onto the ground and headed toward "my" room. I peeled off my shirt and dropped it into the washer, and followed it with my pants. Back when I'd been with the other vampires, laundry hadn't really been a priority. All that had mattered was the thirst. Luckily, those days were over.

In the shower, I briefly thought about Bree. I seemed to constantly be wondering what had happened to her. After she had left me to go find Diego, I'd waited for five minutes. Then I'd headed back to our former home to gather some things. Running, in a random direction, I'd come across Diego's scent. It was a couple of days old, but I followed it. It led me to this hideous house so I went inside and looked around. There were several scents there. One of them was Diego's and another was Riley's, the third almost made me retch. It was the smell of _her_. All of us feared our maker mainly because the pain of the change was horrible to even think about. There were four other scents, but I didn't know any of them. I'd followed Diego's until I'd come into one of the bedrooms. There, on the wooden floor, was a pile of ashes. I tried to find where Diego had exited the house, but there was nothing. He went into the house and never came back out.

I assumed that the ashes on the floor were Diego's. That was worse, because Bree had gone back for Diego. Bree probably had never found him. So what had happened to her? Had she been caught in the battle and killed? Or had she gotten away and not been able to find my scent? Or had the yellow-eyes taken her as their prisoner? These questions constantly bothered me. I cared for Bree. In a way she had been my only friend. Yes, she had used me as a shield to be safe from the others, but I didn't care. I felt like her brother- like I needed to protect her from the others. Fat lot of good that did her, I couldn't convince her to go with me and now she was probably dead.

Sighing, I turned the water off and got out. I dried myself off and got dressed. I walked through the house and closed all the blinds. Yeah, I knew that sunlight didn't hurt me, but still…the fear was there. I sat in the living room on the couch and pulled out the first of my books, opening to the first page.

By nightfall, I'd finished three of the books. I packed up my things, deciding that now was the time to move on. I checked and made sure that everything was just as I had left it before closing the door behind me and taking off into the city. It was easy to make myself invisible. All I had to do was use my "power" and make people not want to look at me. It was ironic in a way because when I'd been human, I'd always been the kind to do the whole "if they can't see you, they can't hurt you" mantra. I may seem like a big tough guy, but I couldn't really torture anyone. I'm not like my dad.

I soared over the rooftops before coming to the end of the city and the beginning of the suburbs. I silently moved through the backyards and avoided all houses with dogs. Dogs seemed to hate me. Probably because I'm a vampire. Cats are okay though. I ran into the forest and kept going for a ways. I usually never had any idea where I was heading, but the mystery of Bree's whereabouts was gnawing at me. I decided that it was time I go back to Washington and try to find the yellow-eyes and see what happened that day. If they were gone, then that meant that we had won and I would try to find one of our scents to find Bree.

I ran for a couple days, stopping only to feed off a couple of hikers. I arrived at the former home of my coven and went from there to find the trail that had led to where we were supposed to fight the rival coven. It wasn't hard to find the scent; twenty vampires tend to leave a very pronounced smell. I followed it for about fifty miles until I came to a meadow. There were some patches of slightly healed grass and wildlife and there was still a trace of vampire scents all around. It started to rain then, as it tends to do in Washington. Any hopes I had of finding the scent were vanishing.

I took off like a bullet, following the scent by instinct only and not thinking as I ran. I caught onto the scent of the human Riley had called dessert and it led me a little farther down south. Finally, I arrived at a small meadow. In the middle of this meadow was a very nice-looking house. I slowed my pace down; the smell of vampire was everywhere along with a horrible smell that made me wrinkle my nose- like wet dog but worse. Walking to the house, I paused knowing that they could probably hear me and knew that I was here. I stood there and realized that I still had my ability on, so they couldn't come out to me. I sighed and dropped it, immediately feeling vulnerable.

The second my power was gone, the door opened and a lot of bodies poured out. I counted eleven people. Of those, nine were vampires and one seemed vampire but had a heartbeat. The other body, a male who was glaring at me, held the hand of the small vampire with a heartbeat. He also had a heartbeat. He seemed closer to being human than the little girl, but a little off.

Realizing that I looked defensive, I straightened up and tried to smile. _Tried_ being the key word. I'm not much of a smiling person. Only Bree could make me smile. I knew I had the right coven because most of their eyes were that color. Only two of their eyes were even remotely red. A female with brown hair that was holding the hand of a redhead had eyes that were almost yellow, but not quite. The other female with red eyes were barely faded, indicating that she hadn't fed in a while. She looked odd though. For one thing, she had _pink _hair. I wasn't even sure vampires could dye their hair.

"Hello," one of the older males said. I automatically assumed that he was the leader. "May I ask why you have decided to visit us?"

"My name is Fred. I- I would like some information."

"What sort of information?" one of the females asked. She looked like a pixie, but the guy she was next to screamed danger.

"He wants to know what happened when Victoria tried to kill Bella," the redhead said. So Riley was right- they did have a mind reader. "How do you know about that?"

"I was supposed to be part of the army. I left before the battle."

"Why?" asked the small brown-haired female.

"The company I was keeping didn't appeal to me," I answered dryly. "It's obvious that we lost. But I'm wondering about one vampire in particular. She was small, not over fifteen in human years, long brown hair…"

"Bree," the blonde leader observed.

"Yes, do you know what happened to her?" I asked, slightly worried.

"I'm sorry to say that she was killed. Not by us though. Unfortunately, the Volturi decided to punish her for the crimes of her maker."

"The Volturi?"

"They are the police of the vampire world. They enforce the laws," the pixie girl said. "Creating an army of newborns is against the law."

"Oh," I said, a feeling of both remorse and relief sinking in. "Was it a quick death?"

"Yes," the redhead said. "She didn't suffer."

"Thank you for telling me this. I appreciate it," I replied softly.

"You can stay with us if you wish. We would be glad to tell you anything you would like to know about the vampire world. How old are you?" the blonde leader asked.

"Almost two."

"Still young, are you able to control your thirst?"

"Reasonably well. I fed recently so I shouldn't be too much trouble. I would like to learn about these laws. I don't want to get in trouble with these people."

"Very well. I am Carlisle and this is my wife Esme," he said indicating the female on his right. She looked very motherly.

"I'm Edward and this is Bella, she's the one your maker was trying to kill," he sounded a little resentful, but I guess I could understand that.

"Alice!" the pixie girl answered excitedly. "This is Jasper."

The angry-looking blonde sent me another cold glare and I tried not to return it. I did want to be on these peoples good side.

"Emmett," a giant man said, "This babe here is my girl Rosalie. Wanna arm wrestle?"

"Um…sure?"

"Emmett, please, let's let him get adjusted before you bombard him with challenges," the pink-haired female replied hotly. She looked at me shortly and said quickly, "Sakura."

Her voice was beautiful. Of course, I was used to beautiful voices- all vampires had them- but hers was especially so. I could only stare dumbly at her for a little while before trying to turn my attention to the last two.

"Jacob," the bad-smelling boy said. "This is Nessie."

"Hi!" the little girl said. "You have eyes like my mama used to have."

It was very odd to say the least to have a girl who looked little speak like an adult. I found my gaze returning to Sakura and she was glaring at me.

"Come on in, we were just watching the news when you arrived," Carlisle said, motioning to the door. Everyone went back into the house and I followed hesitantly, all my training and early experiences as a vampire telling me to protect my back- especially if Jasper was around. He seemed to be watching me especially close.

Everyone sat down on the couch as if nothing had changed. Bella went to Nessie (what kind of name is that?) and picked her up, cradling her in her arms as she babbled about random things. Jasper and Rosalie appeared to be playing chess with Alice sitting nearby shaking her head and saying things like, "You shouldn't have moved there." I noticed that Sakura slipped into the kitchen and I decided to follow her. She seemed more like me than everyone else. I could tell that she drank human blood.

She appeared to be rummaging in the fridge for something and came back out with a bottle of something red and delicious smelling. Blood. I stopped breathing, not wanting to risk going crazy at the scent of it. The fire increased just at the sight though. She poured the liquid into a coffee cup and put it into the microwave and turned it on. She then turned to face me and frowned slightly. "What do you want?" she asked, defensive.

"To talk," I replied.

"Why?"

"Do you feed from humans?" I asked, a vampire's form of small talk.

"Kind of," she said vaguely.

"Kind of?"

"I only drink from cadavers."

"Cadavers? You mean dead people?"

"Yes. I hate the taste of animal blood and I despise killing humans. I found a healthy in-between. Carlisle is a doctor at the hospital and he provides me with all the bodies I need. Why am I even telling you this? I barely know you."

"I don't know. But…it's nice." It was true. I'd barely spoken to anyone for weeks. Even when I'd been a part of my coven, I'd only spoken to Bree. Before that, Riley had been my only contact and then he'd taken me to _her_. But Sakura seemed different, like she understood me on some level. I didn't know what that level was, but I wanted to find out.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Eighteen," she answered dryly.

"How long have you been eighteen?" I smirked.

"Twenty years," she replied.

Wow, so she was older than me- well technically anyways.

"You?" she said, raising a single pink eyebrow at me.

"Twenty-two in human years, almost two in vamp years."

"Still so young."

"You're not that much older than me!"

"Bella is closer to your age. She's almost one and half."

"She doesn't seem it."

"Well, sometimes it seems like she was made to be a vampire. She's weird that way."

"Are you weird like that?" I asked.

"Not really. I was just fine being human before I was changed," she said, shrugging her shoulders and sipping the last of the blood. She set it down on the counter and rested her hands on the granite surface. "What about you?"

"I dunno. I like being a vampire- but sometimes I wonder…"

"Yeah?"

"What my life would be like if Riley hadn't taken me to Victoria. What kind of person I would be."

"How do any of us know what we could have been? Well, except Edward, he would have been dead- the Spanish Influenza you know," she chuckled to herself, before smiling softly to me. "Who was this Bree girl you were asking about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She was my friend, kinda like my kid sister. I…I cared about her. She went back with our coven to try to find her boyfriend. She didn't know he'd been killed earlier by Victoria and Riley." I found myself grinding my teeth as the fury rose in me. Abruptly though it was extinguished and replaced by a sort of numbness of not feeling.

"Don't worry. That's Jasper, he has an ability to feel and influence people's emotions. It does get kind of annoying. Alice can see the future. Edward, as I'm sure you've guessed, can read minds. Bella can shield people's minds. Edward and Bella's daughter, Nessie, can project her thoughts into other's minds. I suppose you could say we're a gifted family. I'm sorry about your friend."

"It's okay. Can you do anything?" I asked, curious.

"We're not sure. We think I can influence the weather but it's not a hundred percent accurate ability," she replied, looking down. I could tell that she wasn't happy she wasn't special like the rest of her coven. "What about you?"

"I make people sick," I said, serious.

There was a small amount of silence and then she burst out laughing. Apparently she thought I was joking. Her laughter did sound beautiful though.

"You're funny!" she hiccupped as she came down from her hysterics. "Make…people…sick!" She started laughing again.

Also, apparently, she didn't believe that that was possible. So as to be polite, I turned my ability on a low level so that looking at me would make her nauseous but not give her a migraine as I'd frequently used on others of my kind. She immediately stopped laughing and clutched her stomach and left the room. I shut off my "shield" and followed her into the living room where she was leaning against a wall, glaring at me. Wow, did this chick have mood swings.

"You could have told me you were going to do that," she said, crossing her arms across her chest, "I almost threw up my snack."

"You weren't listening to me. I don't like being laughed at."

She sent me a heated look before her eyes softened a bit. "Sorry," she muttered.

"It's fine. I'm not used to being around people that don't want to kill me."

"What happened?" Emmett asked, clearly out of the loop.

"Fred has an ability to shield himself," Sakura said simply. "In his words, he _makes people sick_."

"Interesting," Carlisle observed, looking at me with open curiosity. "I wonder what that battle would have been like had you stayed?"

"I'm glad I didn't."

"Me too," Alice said. "We were going to lose until ten minutes before it started. I suppose that must be when you left."

"Yeah," I said.

"If you'll excuse me," Bella said, "It's time for Renesmee to go to bed."

"Mooooooom," Nessie whined, rolling her eyes. "Do I have to?"

"Come on kiddo, I'll read you a fairy tale," Jacob said, wrestling the girl from Bella's arms and throwing her in the air quickly and catching her. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek and I swear that I had never seen a happier man. It almost looked as if he were in love with her. The two of them went upstairs and Bella and Edward excused themselves with Rosalie and Emmett following shortly after.

"Where are they going?" I asked, looking to Sakura for the answer.

She smirked, "For some alone time- if you know what I mean."

If I could have blushed I would have, because I did know what she meant. Soon after that Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice left to go hunt. Which left me alone with Sakura. She sat down on the couch and curled up into a small ball, even though she had the whole thing to herself. I thought that was kinda cute. I sat down on the opposite loveseat and pulled out a book from my backpack. I flipped through it, but found that I couldn't concentrate at all because ever movement and breath that Sakura made had my undivided attention. Needless to say, she was driving me crazy.

She flipped on the television and switched through the channels with the volume on mute; looking bored. She sighed and stopped on some movie. Well not just some movie, but one of my favorite movies. She turned the volume on and laughed at one of the punch lines to a joke. She had a beautiful smile. What was I saying? Everything about her was beautiful. I had to talk to her, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Is your hair really pink?" I blurted.

"Nope."

"Then why is it…?"

"I was a rebel back in the eighties. Dyed my hair pink to make my parents angry. They kicked me out of the house and I was changed about a week later. So it's been this way ever since."

"Wow, does it bug you?"

"I got used to it after a while."

"That's cool." Wow, that sounded lame.

"You look thirsty," she said. "Wanna drink?"

"I don't think it's polite to hunt on someone else's turf."

"I was offering you a cup of blood."

"Oh."

"Be right back," she said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. She came back shortly with a glass of red liquid that sent the flame in my throat up a degree or two. I took a sip, not sure how bottled blood would taste. It wasn't as good as freshly killed prey, but it did taste good. I drank all of it and felt the thirst die down a little to where it no longer annoyed me. She smiled at me and asked, "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. If you need more just ask."

"Okay, Sakura."

"Say it again," she said suddenly, moving next to me quicker than a blink of the human eye.

"Huh?"

"Say my name," she breathed, close enough for me to feel the warmth coming from her pale skin.

"Sakura," I said, immediately feeling a different kind of hunger rise in my throat. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning forward just enough to where I could capture her beautiful lips with my own. I kissed her slowly, not sure if she would accept my advance, but she didn't just accept it- she returned it with credit. She captured my lips, while digging her hands into my hair and suddenly she was seated on my lap. Her lips moved against mine feverishly, kissing me like her life depended on it. Pushing against me, she lightly moaned my name before going in for more. The sound of my name from her lovely voice drove me crazy. I flipped her over and lay on top of her on the couch as we kept kissing.

She mewled like a cat as I ran my hands up and down her sides, loving the delicate curves that she possessed. I smiled to myself as her breath hitched as I ran over her hips. I pulled her into me and kissed her harder. She opened her mouth, allowing me to enter with my tongue and run mine over hers. She tasted delicious- better than blood. If she had been human I wouldn't have been able to resist myself around her. I wanted to never leave her. I could see myself with her- forever young and beautiful. I could tell all of this from one long passionate kiss.

She paused to catch her breath, although it was unnecessary. She gave me a lustful look and was out from under me in a flash. Standing there, I could only gawk as she slowly removed her sweater- leaving only a shirt. It dangled on her finger for a second before she dropped it to the floor. She started walking away slowly, swaying her hips gently as she did so. I could only watch as she seduced me from a distance. She turned her head slowly and gave me a look that made me stand up and start to follow her. As I traveled after her down the hall and up the stairs, she slowly unbuttoned her blouse, one single button at a time. She entered a bedroom and I stopped as I entered, looking around and trying to take everything in.

Most of the room was in shades of dark emerald with dark brown wood to accent it. There were several bookshelves, a television, stereo, closet, and a door I assumed led to a bathroom. I looked around for several moments before my attention returned to the delectable creature before my eyes. She was now only in her green bra and jeans. I was determined to remove those. I was in front of her in a matter of seconds, kissing her again with renewed vigor. She managed to remove my jacket and shirt as we kissed and soon my bare chest was pressed against her mostly bare body. We paused, panting, and stood there looking at each other. Her faded crimson into my bright scarlet. I ran my hand down her face, before slowly kissing her with more emotion than I'd ever kissed a person with before. Something in her sang to me and I was determined to possess it and call it my own, and I hoped she felt the same. She smiled slowly before kissing me back and then tackling me onto the bed.

It was the first of many long, beautiful, and passionate nights.

There you go. I hope you guys liked it :] Thanks for all the kind and inspiring reviews. Some more of them would be lovely! And remember, suggestions are welcomed with warm arms!

**As a reminder here are the shows/books/mangas you can take characters from: **_Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, Vampire Knight, Death Note, Twilight, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Uglies, The Morganville Vampires, Maximum Ride series, Generation Dead, Skip Beat!, Greek myths of any sort, the Southern Vampire mysteries (aka True Blood), CSI, Avatar The Last Airbender, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan._

So yes! I've added some new ones! As another reminder, I do not do fics from shows that I don't know. I like to know a little something about the characters before I write about them and I don't have the time to watch a whole series just to write one chapter. Thanks though!

**Much hugs!**

**Raynebow-NinjaChick**


	12. Support and Love Wanted

Dear Fans of All of My Stories,

I am going to do something unconventional (at least in terms of fanfiction), but I need to ask for a favor. A lot of the review I've read through the years have commented on my writing, talent, etc. and I'm going to ask that you remember all the joy my stories have brought you (if any). Now imagine if, instead of fanfictions, I was able to write original fiction and stay in touch with all of you? I know that doesn't make much sense, so I'll explain.

I am trying very hard to become a published author. My credits to date are four children's books, greater than 100 poems, and one novel. Currently, I'm working on my second and I'm hoping to enter it in a contest. At the same time, I really would like to gain a wide fanbase of love and such.

I have created both a Facebook and a YouTube dedicated to just my writing. The primary purpose of these things is to keep people who enjoy my writing updated on what I'm doing. The YouTube will be used for writing promotion videos, poetry readings, and updates on my daily writing. The Facebook is so I can keep track of people who like me. I also am going to try to promise that (should I ever become published) all of the people who LIKE on Facebook are going to get some recognition and reward- whether it be autographs, free copies, or wanted opinions. Right now on the Facebook page, I have a teaser for the current novel I am working on. The title of this novel is Stained.

Stained is about Thalia, a young woman who accidentally becomes a vampire. She is bitten by Cathryon and he is forced to teach her the ways of the vampire. She must learn the do's and don'ts, along with how to hunt and proper etiquette. There is political unrest, violence, and a good portion of gore.

I would like to stress that this story is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. My vampires do not sparkle, and are vicious man-eating monsters. There is also little to no love. This may disappoint some of you, but aren't you all tired of how every vampire book these days is about love? I got sick of it and decided to do something different.

Here's a review from someone who has read the first fifty pages: "I absolutely love this story! I recieved a copy of this story so I can take it home and i can personally and honestly say that I couldn't put it down! I am trying so hard to savor the last pages but i simply cant. This is better than all of the other vampire books out there!"

So, if you are interested in receiving either the Facebook link or the YouTube link, or both- please message me on here and I'll be glad to reply.

Thank you so very, very much for being so faithful to all of my stories and for loving the way I write. You guys all make my days, even if you're disappointed that I don't update as much (non-fanfiction is the reason why!). This would mean the world to me.

I love you!

Love,

Raynebow-NinjaChick


	13. Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment

RoyXSakura

_.:Roy's P.O.V.:._

It was an average day in Central and Roy Mustang found himself doodling idly on a document of some utter importance that he felt contempt for. This document, which he had only gotten through the long preamble, was what was keeping him from going out and enjoying the warm day. If he didn't have the amount of control that he possessed, the expensive sheet of parchment would have been ashes by now. Roy banged his head against the desk. It didn't help that he had had to close the blinds so he wouldn't be distracted by the fluffy clouds and playful sunshine.

It didn't help.

Every so often another officer would pass by and murmur about the weather and about getting the desk work done so they could go enjoy it. If only Roy could do the same. However, his desk work was the size of a tome and could easily take up to a year to read thoroughly. At the moment, he didn't feel like reading it thoroughly. What should he care about the plumbing systems of Central and their importance to alchemy? This crackpot scientist's idea that human excrement could be used in alchemy was absurd…and disturbing. Sure Roy didn't want to read it, but Fuhrer Bradley himself had assigned the case to him.

It was as if Bradley wanted him to suffer.

Another thing that didn't help him to finish the task assigned was that Hughes kept budging in every five minutes spouting tales of his wife and daughter. Roy had almost turned him into bacon the last time he'd entered. He hoped that Hughes had gotten the message. If he hadn't….at least Roy would be able to make someone else miserable with him on the fine day.

He knew that he shouldn't keep putting off the inevitable. The damn book had to be read, and he would have to read it. There was no other way. Turning to the first page, he began to speed read through the paragraphs. Around page twenty-four, he felt his eyes droop and barely noticed when his head fell forward onto the book.

Roy had been having a lovely dream about burning Hughes and putting his head on a pike when he felt a tapping at his shoulder. When he didn't move, the tapping grew harder until the person was nearly punching him. He jolted upright and glared at said person. That glare turned into a slack-jawed ogle when he noticed what Sakura Haruno was _wearing. _

"Sir, are you well? Do I need to do some check-ups?" she asked, touching his forehead and murmuring about temperature. She then moved to his wrist and took his pulse, shaking her head at how high it had jumped. What she didn't know was that, by taking his pulse, she had bent over and was giving him an excellent view of her cleavage.

"Colonel Mustang? Earth to planet Mustang…"

"Um, uh, I mean…yes?"

"Are you well? I came in here to find you passed out over _that_," she said, pointing in disgust at the book.

"You know it?"

"If I didn't have a mission to leave on today, Fuhrer Bradley would have made me read it."

Roy wanted to strangle her. She was the reason he was stuck inside on such a lovely day? It was her fault that he had to read the damn poop book while everyone was outside playing fetch with the damn dog?

He forced a grin and replied, "Oh, well would you care to express the reasons why you are unable to read it?"

"Like I said, sir. I've got a mission," she answered, stretching. It was then that Roy remembered exactly why he'd been unresponsive in the first place.

"Ms. Haruno, why are you _finally_ wearing the uniform? I thought you 'hated it more than Edward Elric hates milk.'"

She blushed, "I do, but the Fuhrer ordered that I wear it on my mission."

"In your condition?"

"What condition?" she asked before turning a brighter shade of red. "Look Mustang, the last time I wore this was when I became a state alchemist when I was sixteen! I've grown since then!"

"So I can see," he murmured.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. I just think maybe you should wear something more…more."

"Are you implying that I'm not wearing enough? I am wearing the state sanctioned and, mostly required, uniform."

Roy coughed to cover up the fact he needed to clear his throat. He was also very grateful she couldn't see under his desk. If she had, well…she'd be in for a pleasant surprise. This…this was the reason when he became Fuhrer all the female officers would be required to wear tiny miniskirts! And now that he saw how well it worked, it would become so. During his close observation of Sakura's body, he'd failed to notice she'd started ranting.

"…and then it shrank in the wash and somehow ended up turning blue. So of course I couldn't wear it. And then, all high and mighty Fuhrer Bradley says I have to wear the uniform and there's no way I can afford a new one. I mean, do you know how much milk costs these days? Too much! So I have to wear the damn thing and deal with everybody ogling me and being perverts and…Mustang are you even listening to me?"

"Why of course."

"Then why are you staring at my legs?"

"They are very nice legs," he commented.

"What did you say?"

"Your legs are very nice."

"You pervert! And here I was going to volunteer to help you with the book. Ugh…men," she shouted as she began to storm out of his office.

"Wait, Sakura! Please, help me?"

"No, you were clearly sexually harassing me."

"I did no such thing."

"You did, and I'll file a formal report if you keep doing so," Sakura smirked.

"Not if I order you not to do that and also order you to help me with this book," Roy smiled, knowing he'd won.

Her shoulders fell and she gave him a fierce glare. "You, Roy Mustang, are evil. I'll help you, but you better not do anything funny."

"Why I would _never_ do anything of the sort."

She sighed and crossed behind his desk to lean over the book—giving him yet another wonderful look at her breasts. Her eyes darted across the pages and she groaned, not realizing that to Roy's ears it was quite the erotic sound. Sakura reached into one of her pockets and pulled out glasses. Putting them on could only help Roy picture her as a sexy library, checking him out. The bulge in his pants was not getting any easier to maintain. And the little vixen had no idea what she was doing to him!

"Reject it."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I'm already thirty pages in and I can see some major flaws with this guy's hypothesis. There's no way this experiment could work."

"I see. So I just take this stamp here," he said, reaching under her to open the drawer containing stamps while managing to brush against her breasts, "and I push it hard against the paper like this, and done?"

"Um yeah," she replied, her cheeks red again.

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Haruno."

"Oh it's no problem. It was my work originally, remember?"

"I do," he grinned. "Now, would you like some repayment for helping me?"

"That's not necessa-"

Roy surprised them both by pulling her down and kissing her. The taste of her lips could only be described as magical and, although at first she struggled, when she started kissing him back the feeling was amazing. Her fingers pulled and twisted his hair as his hands roamed all over her body. The weak buttons had no power against his nimble fingers as he took off her constricting blouse and began to touch her soft womanly curves.

Sakura climbed up on his desk, shoving the damn book to the floor, and pulled him against her. Their lips met again in a heated embrace as they kissed. Roy barely noticed when she ripped off his shirt and began to nip and tenderly bite the flesh at his neck. He loved the sound of her soft moans as he slowly began to pull down that tiny, tiny miniskirt and…

"Hey, Colonel Mustang, I was just won-what the hell are you doing?" Havoc shrieked as he spotted the pair of half-dressed officers.

Sakura maintained her composure and grabbed her torn blouse, pulling it over her shoulders. Then she climbed down from Roy's desk and sank down under it.

"I…she…you…what? And then? Kissing? Huh?" Havoc babbled.

"Havoc, if you want to remain a man you will tell no one what you have seen here. Do you understand?" Roy ordered.

"Uh, yes sir!" he blinked as he ran from the room.

"Now where were we?"

"I believe," Sakura replied, unbuckling his pants, "that you were repaying me."

"Ah yes."

Several hours later, they finished putting back on their uniforms (although Sakura's was pretty much scraps of fabric) and kissed once more. Sakura smiled and Roy felt that perhaps the nice day wasn't wasted inside for nothing. They left the office, smirking, and began to make their way out of the building. Sakura stopped in front of a door and Roy gave her a questioning look.

"Oh, I have one thing left to do before we leave. I have to file a harassment complaint against a man who ravished me on his desk today."

"Then I have to file one against a girl who ravished me against the wall of my office today."

"Truce?" she asked.

"Truce," Roy replied, smiling as he took her hand and kissed her once again.


	14. Breathe Me

**Breathe Me**

_SakuraXSnape_

.:Sakura's P.O.V.:.

Sakura hated mirrors. She hated their shapes and frames. She hates their reflective surfaces. She hated that they were everywhere that she went. Most of all, she hated what she saw in them.

The seed of her problem had been planted in first year after she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw. It had been assumed of course. She had always been brilliant and cunning, even as a toddler. At first, she'd been happy. The coursework and new classes provided much entertainment to her eager mind. However, she soon realized the side of Ravenclaw house that was never seen by the others—the competitiveness.

In Ravenclaw, being the best meant having the highest marks, being well regarded by the professors and students of the other houses, having a good personality, and having the looks to match all of that. In other words, _perfection_ was expected. Sakura had the marks and the respect, and she even had the warm, loving personality that drew others to her, but she felt that she lacked in the appearance section. Lacking was something that Sakura could not accept. If she did, it would be accepting that she was below par. That she was imperfect and could never be. Sakura strived to be perfect; she hungered for it.

It had all began with a snide comment from Pansy Parkinson of Slytherin. Just a little bump of the shoulder and the words, "Taking up a lot of room there aren't you, Haruno?" and she'd been reduced to almost shedding tears in front of everyone in the Great Hall. It had made her feel so small and stupid. Pansy was a year older than her, and may have had a reputation for sleeping around, but no one denied that she was beautiful. Sakura wanted to be beautiful. She doubted that any of the boys in her house even thought of her as a girl, much less as a beautiful one.

No boy had ever asked her out. No boy had ever dared to attempt to snog her. No boy had even flirted with her. It made her feel inadequate. In Ravenclaw, inadequacy equaled failure. That meant that Sakura Haruno was a failure. She knew that she needed to do better. The same day as Pansy pointed out her size, Sakura decided that lunch was an unnecessary luxury. Dinner was also deemed unneeded. She went to bed with her stomach growling, but a feeling of smugness for controlling her need to stuff her face.

And so it had continued.

Sakura was now a fourth year, and was glad to be returning to Hogwarts. However, she was not glad to see that she had gained some weight over the summer holiday. In fact, it looked like she had gained a good _fifteen_ pounds. Everywhere she went, she felt eyes on her. The mocking thoughts could easily be read on their faces, just past their easy smiles and kind eyes. On the inside, they all hated her. They despised her because she was so large. So hideous.

When Cho Chang asked why she was skipping the usual welcome back feast, she said she'd indulged in sweets from the trolley on the train ride. The easy lie crept past her lips before she could even think about it. It had gotten easier to lie to her friends and acquaintances throughout the years. They didn't need to worry. It would only increase the burden that she felt was caused by her presence.

Of course, her diet hadn't changed anything. Boys still didn't look at her even though she was able to wear jeans from when she'd been ten. They didn't even so much as glance in her direction. It bothered her and she vowed to fast to make up for the barbeques and fast food she'd consumed over the holiday. Maybe this year Cedric Diggory would notice her. Maybe he'd walk her to a class or sit beside her in the Great Hall. She could only hope.

The first day of classes always felt the hardest to Sakura. It didn't matter if she got there first and took a seat in the front row before anybody could, because the feeling of failing still lurked. It whispered in her ear that if she didn't answer every question the teacher asked, then she had messed up. If she didn't score perfectly on the exam Professor Snape gave then she couldn't have a roll at dinner. If Professor McGonagall didn't even call on her then she couldn't have dinner at all. In her mind, the score system made perfect sense. It was the rules that she lived by.

Her first class of the new term was Charms. It was a class she lived for because it required no instinct or absurd skill other than memorization and careful practice. Today they were learning to split things apart. It was a skill that Sakura had carefully practiced over the summer so that she could get high marks for her proficiency on her first try.

"Well, Miss Haruno, I'd enjoy to see your example?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied, rolling up the sleeves of her robe and pulling out her wand. She tapped it once against the teacup. "_Diffindo_." Her teacup split perfectly in half and Professor Flitwick clapped his hands and smiled, pointing out her charm to the rest of the class.

For once, she felt close to perfect.

Her next class was Potions, one that required both skill and concentration. It was also her hardest course. She yearned for some semblance of approval from Professor Snape, but had yet to receive even an inkling. Throwing herself into the complicated recipe for a sleeping draught, she ignored the sounds around her and intently went about her work. The task went quickly, and Sakura grinned down at her excellently colored potion. There seemed to be no way that he could mark her down for it. The boy two tables down had his cauldron turned up too high and it was bubbling intensely. Professor Snape vanished the boy's potion and walked toward Sakura's table.

It seemed to take him forever. His footsteps echoed on the cobblestone floor and her heartbeat jacked up to an unbelievable level. She made herself a promise. If he praised her, she could eat dinner _with_ dessert. He gazed down into her cauldron and carefully wafted the air over it before closing his eyes, his brow knitting in thought. It was perfect, right? What was there to consider?

"Haruno, you have yet again proven that knowing the procedure does not produce great results. It is acceptable, but not perfect," he said, scooping up a sample and putting it into a small vial.

There it was again. That word. _Perfect. _

It wasn't perfect. Therefore, Sakura wasn't perfect. So she was a failure. Failures didn't deserve to eat dinner at all.

The rest of the day was a haze to Sakura. Her terrible potion had put her in a rather foul mood and she'd almost beheaded the blast-ended shrewt she'd been working with in Care of Magical Creatures. It had cost Ravenclaw five points. It was proving to be a horrendous day. It didn't make it any better that her jeans felt uncommonly tight and the several of the professors gave her looks throughout the day. Sakura skipped dinner and flopped onto her bed, not even bothering to undress.

She fell into a dreamless sleep and woke early to the gentle snores of her roommates. Her eyes passed over their forms and she envied their sensual curves and skinny bodies. The body she possessed felt bloated and too big. Crawling out from under her covers, she walked into the bathroom and stared into the forbidden mirror.

What she saw didn't please her. Her hips had love handles and in the jeans she was still wearing, she could spy an almost muffin top. Her stomach had rolls and her thighs were the size of watermelons. She was a beast. A horrible, ugly monster.

Casting a silencing charm on the room, she bent over a toilet and pushed a finger down her throat. At first nothing happened, but then hot bile came up and spilled into the basin. It burned and she felt a few furious tears spill down her cheeks, but she pressed on and threw up several more times before she accepted that it had been enough for tonight. She got off her knees, undid the charm, brushed her teeth, and climbed back into bed as though nothing had happened.

The next morning she couldn't bring herself out from her bed, and told Luna Lovegood to pass on the news of her illness to her professors. She dreaded missing classes right at the beginning of term, but Professor Snape's words kept repeating in her head. _"Acceptable, but not perfect."_

_Not perfect._

_Not perfect._

_Not perfect._

Not. Perfect.

A few silent tears fell down and she sniffed. Her stomach quietly roared and she ignored it as usual. When was the last time she'd eaten? Two days ago perhaps, but she'd been drinking plenty of water. It was all she needed really. It filled the emptiness in her stomach. Sakura slowly stood up and pulled down the too-tight jeans and took off her robe and t-shirt. She stood in front of the wall length mirror some vain girl had put up and observed herself. It was a sickening sight all that fat. All those rolls and layers upon layers of blubber. Sakura was a whale.

Not for the first time, Sakura realized that she hated herself. It didn't scare her. What scared her was the fact that she didn't have a problem with her self-loathing. It was normal, right?

A quiet cough somewhere in the upper right corner of the room made her swivel around. Swiveling turned out to be a horrible idea because it made the whole room spin and she collapsed to the floor, taking shuddering breaths to stop the twisty, tumbly walls.

"W-who's there?" she gasped.

No one answered.

She opened her eyes and tried to see where the noise had come from, but nothing was there. It was just a high corner of the ceiling where the wall met with another. A small spider web hung in the crevice and she stared at it. Perhaps it had been her imagination. That seemed to be the most likely case. She stood up slowly and faced the mirror one last time. Spitting at the reflection, she shrugged on some clean clothes that still felt too tight and grabbed her wand. Leaving Ravenclaw tower, she began to wander the halls. The progress, she noted, was slow. It was making her more tired to keep going. She longed to return to her soft bed and sink into the mattress.

Suddenly a door was before her and Sakura, feeling curious, opened it. Inside, she discovered a large bed covered with down blankets and fluffy pillows. It seemed rather convenient that what she'd been thinking of had appeared, but she couldn't whine. Her body sank into the bed and she instantly fell asleep.

When she awoke, the room was dark. As soon as she wished for a light there was one and it glowed softly. Sakura rubbed her eyes and sat up, the room spinning slightly. Her stomach rumbled and a tray of food appeared before her. It wasn't the horrible fatty foods of the Great Hall, but a selection of foods she would have chosen. Smoked salmon on a bed of fresh lettuce with a light sauce on the side and a glass of water glistening with condensation. Cautiously, she ate the food and drank the water. The food settled nicely in her stomach and she felt much better than she had. When she thought of the fact she'd just eaten a whole salad though, she felt sickened.

She was such a pig.

A troubled sleep was all that answered her.

It had seemed like days in the room, but it must have only been hours. When she finally left the sanctuary she discovered that it was only dinnertime and everyone was going to the Great Hall. She went the opposite direction of the flock and instead continued her wandering.

"Wandering the halls during mealtime, Miss Haruno? Ten points from Ravenclaw. Now go and join your fellow students," Professor Snape sneered, his eyes bearing into hers. Sakura felt so weak, so powerless under that gaze and meekly obeyed his orders. She sat down next to Luna and stared in horrified fascination at the plate that lay in front of her. She knew that she should at least put something on it, but couldn't bring herself to. If she did, she might eat it. Her pants were already uncomfortably tight.

She felt someone's gaze upon her and followed it up to the head table. Startled, she realized that Professor Snape was watching her. It was an odd thing, she thought. Deciding to ignore him and his stare, she instead focused on the inane conversations going on around her. She barely noticed that her eyelids were drooping until Luna tapped on her shoulder and suggested she go to bed. Sakura agreed and stood up, staggering out of the hall and up to the tower.

The walls closed in on her and before she knew it, her head was resting against the plush carpet. If only she could just sleep her and forget about the world. All she wanted to do was just sleep. In the distance, she heard footsteps but pretended she didn't. Most likely it would be someone she didn't know and they'd ask her what she was doing on the floor and she'd lie. Easy as pie. Oh, pie sounded so good.

"Miss Haruno, this is the second time I have found you in the halls when you shouldn't be. I ask you, why are you not with your classmates in the Great Hall?" Professor Snape inquired.

"Sleepy," she muttered, burying her face in the floor.

"And you cannot seem to make it any further without assistance? I never took you to be the lazy type, Miss Haruno. Pity."

"I'm not lazy," she groaned, struggling to stand. The colors were blurring and everything was a kaleidoscope that kept moving. She braced herself against the wall and put one foot in front of the other.

"Miss Haruno are you ill?"

"No," she whispered, trying to concentrate on walking. If only everything would stop moving! Her vision was dancing to a mad beat and before she knew it, there was no color. Sakura Haruno had become unconscious.

When she woke up, she noticed she was in the same large bed she'd found in that mysterious room. She also noted that there was a roaring fire and a tray of food beside her. A new addition was a single chair near the fire where a sleeping form lay. The firelight flicked across his features, distorting them into unrecognizable shapes. Sakura realized that it was too difficult to sit up, so she remained on the bed and wished that the man would wake up. Luckily, he seemed to stir and sat up suddenly, his eyes flashing over to her. He stood and crossed the room in three easy steps before looking down on Sakura.

Sakura shrank back into the pillows upon realizing that the man was Professor Snape. What must he think of her, she wondered. It was further proof of her imperfection that her teacher had to take care of her and probably had to carry her to this room. Further proof that she was nothing more than a burden.

"I'm sor-" she began to say.

"You are not well, Miss Haruno," he interrupted.

"I can explain."

"Then please do."

"I just got caught up with my work and forgot to eat these past couple days, that's all."

"No, Miss Haruno. It is clear that you have not been eating for longer than 'a couple days.'"

She didn't know what to say.

"How much do you weigh?" he asked.

She didn't want to answer that. It was such a high number.

"Miss Haruno, if you do not answer I can always give you a dose of Veritaserum. I am sure that you do not wish for that to be the case."

"Ninety-one," she whispered.

"How much did you weigh last year?"

"One hundred twelve, sir."

He paused and seemed to regard her shortly. "No, Miss Haruno. You are not healthy. You are, in fact, very ill it would seem. I shall have to take you to Madame Pomfrey as soon as she returns from her vacation."

"No!" Sakura yelled, surprising both of them with the strength of her voice.

"No? Miss Haruno, either you begin to eat more frequently or you shall be taken to Madame Pomfrey. Your choice," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"I- I can eat more frequently," she said, her voice almost cracking.

"Prove it," he replied, gesturing to the tray of food beside them. On it was a large steak, mashed potatoes with a heap of gravy on them, a roll slathered in butter, and green beans with bits of bacon sprinkled on top. A small brownie was on a plate beside the tray. The food looked disgusting. Horrible. Fattening.

Sakura forced herself to pick up the fork and take a small green bean and push it into her mouth. And another and another, until all the green beans were gone with bacon bits left behind. She moved onto the steak, cutting it up into hundreds of pieces and eating them slowly, counting her bites. Her stomach was beginning to bulge. Professor Snape's eyes did not leave her as she slowly consumed the steak.

She looked at the clock on the wall. It had been an hour and half since she'd started eating. Half of the steak as well as all of the potatoes, the roll, and the brownie were left.

"May I have a drink?" she asked, her throat feeling dry.

He merely waved his wand and a glass of pumpkin juice appeared. She would have preferred water, but her throat begged for something to relieve it. The juice was slowly drank and she made a great task of it, wanting to avoid the carbs that lay ahead.

"Sir, I'm afraid that I'm full."

"Then I am afraid that I shall have to make an appointment with Madame Pomfrey for you."

"Please sir, that's unnecessary. I'm perfectly fine. I ate a big lunch today."

"I did not see you," he observed. "Miss Haruno, if you cannot take care of yourself then it is clear that someone else is needed to make sure you do not kill yourself. It is also clear that Dumbledore should be made of aware of this situation."

"Please! I'm fine. Nothing is happening. I just need to lose some weight is all!"

"_Lose some weight?_ Miss Haruno, if you continue to lose weight you shall die."

"Stop saying that. Like I'm not fat. You don't know anything," she hissed, knocking the tray over and spilling it all over the carpet. He seemed shocked by her display of temper but merely vanished it and stared vacantly.

"You think you're fat?"

"I know that I'm fat."

"Perhaps you're more ill than you realize."

"Nothing is wrong with me!" she shrieked.

"You are mistaken, Sakura," he whispered. It didn't escape her notice that he'd used her first name—something taboo and unusual. "You are thin. Too thin, in fact."

"Stop lying to me, Professor."

"Call me Severus."

"What?"

"I'm afraid that since you do not seem to have any motivation to get well, you're going to need a supervisor. As I am the only one who knows how serious your condition is currently, it only makes sense that I am the one to do it."

"You're…going to supervise me?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Yes."

"Have I any choice in the matter?" she seethed.

"No," he replied, conjuring up another tray covered with the same foods. "If you want this to remain our secret you must consume everything on this tray. If you eat half, I'll tell Dumbledore. If you eat none, I shall tell both Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore."

"What is this?"

"A score system—the rules if you will."

"Professor Snape-"

"Severus."

"I can't do this."

"Then you are weaker than I had thought. Do you wish to be revealed?"

"No," she whispered, picking up the fork yet again and beginning with the mashed potatoes this time.

He watched as she ate. It was a slow, torturous process. It took her hours to finish the entire tray and when she had, she immediately threw it back up. Too much, too soon. Professor Snape just shook his head and vanished the bile.

It would be a long recovery.


	15. Forever & Always

**Rayne Says: Update for you! Happy new year also. Now that I have finished my novel (yay) I'll have more time for fanfiction updates. There will probably be more updates for this story than for the others because they're oneshots. I am still taking suggestions for what you'd like to read, but I'm also just going to do what I feel like.**

* * *

**Forever & Always**

_SakuraXTate_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

Sakura Haruno sat down on a bed, the mattress barely pressing down as she did so, and waited. It was all she really did, because there was nothing better to do. Everyone else in this house was batshit crazy and being away from them all of the time was a good thing. Still…that got boring pretty fast. It wasn't as if she could just read a book. She couldn't touch books because her hand would just pass through it so it did no good to try. If she wanted to she could sit in on one of Dr. Harmon's sessions, but it was too risky. Half of the time another ghost was in with him though he didn't know it. She knew if she let Tate see her again he'd freak out and do something reckless.

It was already a risk for Sakura. After all she was currently sitting on the bed that had once been his. Before him it had been hers. For the living members of the House it was Violet's room. Whenever Tate wasn't around Sakura enjoyed watching Violet. Something about her reminded Sakura of Tammy, her best friend. Tammy was probably in her thirties now. Sakura would always be sweet sixteen and never kissed. When Tate had been living she'd been tempted. Then he'd done that terrible thing and it had never been the same.

_"I just wanted to be with you. Always," he said._

That didn't justify killing all of those kids. She may not have been at the actual killings, but hearing the details from the SWAT team was enough. She'd puked all over the basement floor. He'd come and kissed her on the cheek and spoken sweet words. It hadn't done anything but made her hate him more. So she'd turned away and disappeared and not let him see her since. He'd cried crocodile tears and screamed her name. It didn't do anything to change her mind.

The door of the bedroom opened and the young, blonde Violet Harmon strolled into her room. She automatically turned on the stereo, some odd indie rock blaring out, and fell onto her bed. She huffed and called out Tate's name. It seemed oddly familiar that once upon a time he had been doing the same for Sakura. It was how ghosts were summoned. They heard their name and they followed. Sakura seemed to be the only one who could ignore it. Tate appeared out of thin air and greeted Violet with an assault of kisses while Sakura watched dispassionately. It took a lot of strength to keep herself invisible to him. He was also a ghost and that meant he should be able to see her, but she was ten years older than him and ten years wiser. She knew a lot more ghostly tricks than he did.

He was still kissing the living girl. In fact they were making out more passionately than before. It was disgusting. She felt like she should be doing something to protect Violet from him. Doing something to scare her away. Violet was so close to finding out what Tate had done. Once she knew everything would change for her too. It was for the better. Why hadn't Tate learned? Why hadn't he learned that they didn't want him? She felt her fury rise and clenched her fist. A vase near her broke. Tate and Violet ceased their saliva exchange and looked up.

"Probably just a ghost," Tate quipped.

"Yeah," Violet agreed.

"Now where were we?"

"Where were we?" Sakura mocked.

"Did you hear something?"

"No," he said, sounding unsure. He sent searching glances around the room, but his gaze avoided where she stood.

"If I let you see me Tate you'd leave her alone, wouldn't you?"

His head perked up again, but he tried to focus back on Violet. Sakura wasn't going to make it easy for him. She slid a pile of Violet's books off of the bed and onto the floor. They looked up again, but then tried to ignore her. She grabbed the sheets and tugged hard. It was almost impossible to do, but she managed to put enough emotion into the action that it happened easily. Now she had their full attention.

"What do you want?" Violet shouted, seeming angry at being interrupted.

"Well for one you can stop making out with him. Those are bloodstained lips, honey. They'll lead you down the path to Hell and there isn't a way out."

Violet didn't hear her. "Just leave us alone."

The command brushed over Sakura's skin like an icy wind. She knew that she'd have to obey soon, but for the second she could ignore it. Instead she knocked over a marker onto some paper, and it formed words. **Stay Away.**

It took all of her energy to do it and once it was done she faded away. She reappeared back in the basement and made herself as invisible as possible. The Infantata didn't like her, and he'd made that quite clear on the day she'd died.

_It had been a stupid dare. Tammy had dared her to go inside the Murder House and bring back a souvenir to show the school. Sakura had never been one to turn down a challenge. She crept past the gate and down the sidewalk. There was a broken window near the kitchen and she'd climbed through, cutting her arm in the process. She'd sucked the blood away and walked into the kitchen. It was dusty and hideous, but she didn't expect it to be clean. She looked through the drawers for a souvenir to show Tammy, but there wasn't even a spoon to be found. She walked into what she assumed had once been a living room and there were white sheets covering what she assumed to be furniture. It was cold and she shivered. It felt as though someone or something was watching her. A floorboard creaked and she squeaked in surprise. "I'm being silly."_

_ She continued walking and looking for something special to show Tammy. It didn't look like there was anything special on the first floor. She climbed up the stairs and they creaked one by one as she went up. A mounting sense of dread entered her heart and it pounded furiously with every step she took. She turned at the end of the staircase and went into the first room she saw. It was beautiful in a creepy way. She turned on her heels and saw a little music box near the window. She opened it and a gentle tinkling noise played. It seemed familiar but not quite at the same time. Humming a few bars, she closed it. A floorboard creaked behind her. She whirled around and a tall, big man looked down at her. She screamed and he closed in. She ran out of the room and tried to get downstairs as quickly as possible. The stranger grabbed her arms and she struggled to get away. Sakura managed to pry herself free and the momentum of her release forced her in one direction—forward. She fell down the stairs, her neck snapping horribly in the process until she lay in a crumbled heap on the floor. The man followed down as quickly and began calling her name. He looked on in horror as he realized what had happened. "Oh my god, Sakura! It was a joke. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he sobbed as he took of his hood, revealing the face of Tammy's boyfriend. _

_ They covered it up well. It was easy for everyone to believe that she'd simply tripped down the stairs. She'd been mourned and missed, but it hadn't changed anything. She was now a resident of the Murder House. Permanently._

"Sakura," a voice called. "I know you're here. You were the one annoying us tonight, weren't you?" She chose not to answer. "Why? Why after all this time did you speak?"

It broke her heart not to appear. His face looked so sad and empty as he called out for her. At the beginning she'd thought they were soul mates. It was all a grand plan. She'd died so that she could love him when he moved into the house. His family was meant to own the house and die in the house so that they could always be together. It was romantic in a twisted way. He smiled in her direction, that same slightly-broken smile that made her want to fall into his arms.

"Sakura, please? Please let me see you. Just once."

Something in his voice was different. It was less controlled, more volatile and she vanished further into the void of the basement. He stayed there and waited for her. He expected herself to show herself to him after almost twenty years of nothing. Her resolve was as strong as ever. Tate turned around, sent a look back in her direction, and walked back up the stairs.

"Where is my baby?" Nora Montgomery echoed as she wandered around.

"Thaddeus is down here."

"No…that's not my baby," she said, shaking her head. "Who are you? Are you the maid? You are dressed awfully strange to be hired by me. Never mind, have you seen my useless husband?"

Sakura decided she'd done enough talking for today and vanished away.

She reappeared the next day as Violet was doing homework. "I hated science too."

"Who's there?" she said, wheeling around and gazing all around the room.

"Stay away from Tate."

"Who are you?"

"He'll kill you."

"No, you're lying. Tate would never do that."

"He's done it before."

"Violet?" Tate appeared in the room and Sakura faded as far into invisibility as she could. "What happened? You look upset."

"Some ghost showed up and started saying bullshit about you. I mean what's going on, Tate?"

"I don't know. They liked to mess with people. How do you keep getting into my room, by the way?"

"I come in through the door obviously."

"Liar!" Sakura shouted. The word echoed in the room and both of the bodies stilled.

"Did you hear that?"

"I don't think this ghost likes you."

"Probably not. Hey, tomorrow's Halloween. Do you want to do anything?"

"Well I have a place I'd like to show you if you don't mind. I think you'd like it."

"Gonna show her the beach where you went to cry before you died, Tate? Huh?"

That had been silent, but she still felt powerful for saying it.

"That sounds cool," Violet agreed, kissing him gently. It slowly got more heated and Sakura hated that she was powerless and could only sit back and watch the murderer make out. She decided that something needed to be done. Picking up a large book, she chucked it at the wall. It hit with a satisfying thud and she heard a scramble of footsteps from down the hall.

"Violet?"

"Shit that's my dad. You've got to go."

"Violet," Tate protested.

"Go!"

Tate opened the window and jumped out. The door opened and Ben Harmon peeked his head in. "Everything okay in here? I thought I heard something."

"Just dropped a book, dad. It's cool."

"Okay," he said, closing the door again.

"Get out of here, ghost."

Sakura vanished instantly, dissolving into nothing and reappearing in the basement. This time something forcefully pushed her against a wall and her face paled at the first thing that popped into her mind. The Infantata was finally going to get her. He was the only ghost that constantly sought her out for the purpose of pain. It could be because her hair was such a bright color or that she was the only female besides his mother who came into the basement. Instead, when she dared to open her eyes, she met Tate's cold and victorious ones.

"Finally," he hissed. "Do you know how many goddamn years I've waited for this?"

"If you're going to kill me get it over with. I'll just come back and you know that."

"Kill you? No, something else entirely."

He leaned in and kissed her hard, his lips almost painful against hers. His skin was cold and it pressed against hers. He tried to jam his tongue into her mouth, but she bit down and ripped off a hunk of it. That distracted him for all of two seconds and he brought his hand across her face in a vicious slap. She tasted blood in her mouth, and tried to push him away so she could get away. Tate just grabbed her again and pushed her back against the wall. This time he was more demanding and grabbed onto her breasts with his hands. She groaned and he forced his tongue into her mouth. Her head was spinning as he kissed her. Sakura knew that she didn't need oxygen, but that didn't stop the desire to breathe.

His hands continued to roam over her body and she continued to fight against him. He pulled her closer to him and kept ravishing her lips with his own.

"Tate. Tate stop!" she screamed. His eyes blinked once and he looked up. There was something twisted in there, some nerve she couldn't identify and it broke her heart to see the spark of love that she remembered.

"Why? You like this. Or at least, you used to."

"We're dead, Tate. And you…you…" she cut off her sentence upon realizing that she couldn't tell him about the murders he'd committed. She was still protecting him from himself after all of these years. In some ways, Sakura had never stopped loving Tate Langdon. She didn't have the strength to stop. She thought that she had been strong by staying away from him all of these years, but she'd been wrong. He'd been waiting for this. Waiting for her to realize that she had always loved him, and always would. She'd been obsessed with finding something special ever since she'd died, and she finally realized that she had found something special. She had found Tate.

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**Rayne Says: Reviews please? They always make my day. Also if you get the joke I inserted in there about Tate (hint it's in the last couple of paragraphs) then I'll give you virtual cookies :) Love. **


	16. Trickery

**Rayne Says: Okay I know that I just did a Harry Potter chapter one or two ago, but when inspiration strikes I am not one to turn away. I've been on a Harry Potter kick and decided to do one for my favorite bad guy. So, although this isn't very romantic, I tried to make it interesting still. I think the thing we've learned from Sakura Ai is that love comes in all kinds of forms. It can be puppy love or real love or lust. Perhaps even friendship. I am going to try to get back into animes so I'm not just writing chapters with book characters. I will usually mention whatever the story crossed with here in the author's note. So make sure you read it. :) Keep reviewing.**

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**Trickery**

_SakuraxTom Riddle_

_.:Tom's P.O.V.:._

Tom Riddle was a patient man, and nothing annoyed him more than an airheaded twit falling over herself to please him. His patience was infinite, but even that could not stand up to the girl hanging off of his arm as she chatted about how Professor Dumbledore was clearly daft and not able to teach and how Dippet should have fired him long ago. Trying to gently pry her off of his limb without losing it, he smiled his sweetest smile and he felt her melt beside him. Women were useless creatures, and were only good for information or keeping near for other purposes. Sakura Haruno was definitely the former.

She was not smart or particularly beautiful, but she was a pureblood and her father did have ministry connections. Those connections could help him become the Minister of Magic and would initiate the beginning of his regime. That was all she was good for. Once he had what he wanted he would leave her just as he had with all of those other girls. He did not need her for anything else. It had been obviously lately that she had begun to sense this and had become glued to his side in an attempt to hold onto his affections. The girl was as daft as Dumbledore.

"Tom?" she mewled, her voice gentle and sickly sweet.

"Yes Miss Haruno?"

"Are you going to stay here for the holidays?"

"Yes. As always, I shall stay."

"Do you think I could stay with you? My parents are going to America and I don't want to see those Yankee witches. They can be awfully rude."

Stay with him? The poor girl wanted to stay with him over the holidays? It did not make sense. Obviously he had gone too far and the girl was harboring delusion thoughts that they were in love. Either he had to put a stop to them now or he had to keep her near. He was close to gaining her father's trust and that was key to the next step. "Of course you can, dear."

"Oh thank you, Tom!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck. From his peripheral vision he saw a look in her eye that was unfamiliar and foreign. It was a look of great intelligence and of a predator moving in for the kill. Then that look was gone and she was drawing back to kiss him. It was short, as all kisses they had were, but she did not seem to mind. "You don't know how happy this makes me."

She pulled away, yawned, and excused herself to bed. Usually, she had to be pried away from him at night. She must be feeling ill. Tom had always thought Sakura was an odd girl. Going steady with her had only proved it. Sometimes she said the most unusual things or said things that were not common knowledge before it came out. It was why he had wanted to keep an eye on her. She was an anomaly, and he had known that from the moment she had arrived at Hogwarts as a transfer. Transfer students were unusual enough, but she was also an orphan. Her parents had been killed in a battle with Grindelwald in Austria when the muggle Hitler had invaded. When she had told him about it there had been truth and lies in her eyes, and he had decided that it was his personal mission to know more.

Since then, Sakura had become his lackey- for lack of a better word- and hung on his every word. It was a terrible thing to have to put up with, but he did. If only she did not talk so much. He could put up with her looks and stupidity, but it was the talking that got to him. It never stopped. She talked through breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whispered during classes, and yelled over the other students in the hallways. To say it was annoying would be an understatement.

Looking at the clock, Tom decided that he too should adjourn to his quarters. As he was Head Boy he had his own private rooms and could enjoy the solace that he had not received while rooming with the other boys. It was an enjoyable perk of the occupation. Other than Dumbledore peering over his shoulder every other moment, it was the best year at Hogwarts so far. His plans were coming to fruition and soon the world would be his.

The next morning dawned far too early and Tom dressed quickly. It was the last day before the holiday and the students were buzzing like a hive of angry bees. Sakura was as chatty as ever and seemed like she would not stop talking unless he did so. He placed a quick kiss on her lips and she finally stopped. It appeared as though she were in shock. Then he remembered that he had never initiated a kiss since they had begun seeing each other. Oh well, if it helped along his cause then what could it hurt?

"Wow Tom. That was like nothing I've ever felt."

"Then I am glad that I have pleased you," he said, smiling through the lie.

Their day of classes passed by and before he knew it students were departing for their homes and families while he was left behind. Sakura bounded up behind him and threw her arms around him yet again. He was beginning to rethink his decision to let her stay. If the holiday turned out the way he wanted then he would be invited to her New Year's dinner and would meet her father for the first time. All he needed to do would be patient.

"Tom, what should we do first? There's snow outside or we can go to the library or I bet the common room is empty is we wanted some privacy or-"

"I am afraid that I have some business to attend to. I will see you after it is done."

"Tom," she whined, only to be silenced once he cast a sharp gaze upon her.

"Goodbye."

He walked away without turning back and smiled as he reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He had given her this legacy. She would always be the girl killed by the monster in the chamber. It made her special. More so than her ordinary life would have been. In some ways it was a blessing from Tom for her to be in the state she was in. He was a merciful man.

Tom opened the chamber and slid into the dank system of pipes and tunnels easily. It was a second home to him. The basilisk slid down to greet him and he petted her scales casually. She was more than a pet to him; she was one of his only friends. She was not a tool to be used only to be thrown away. The basilisk had already proven to be of great use. He spent nearly an hour with the great snake, talking of life at Hogwarts and of what he was going to do once he was out of this cursed school. Unfortunately, he knew that he had to go back to Sakura if he wanted any chance of a connection with her father.

He climbed back up from the chamber and walked to the Slytherin common room. Sakura sat in front of a roaring fire, her legs pulled up underneath her. She was snoozing and she looked so vulnerable that Tom wanted to slap her for being so easy to kill. She was a Slytherin, and she was not supposed to let down her guard long enough to fall asleep in a common area where anyone could jinx or curse her. Although he did not know a Slytherin that would choose to attack his girlfriend. Girlfriend. The word disgusted him just as much as she did. She was not his friend though she may be a girl. She was a tool, and he needed to take care of her.

Gently shaking her shoulder, he whispered, "Sakura, wake up."

She groggily came to and frowned, "What?"

"You fell asleep."

"Did I? Silly me."

"Yes, silly you. Do you require my assistance to your dormitory?"

"No, I can make it myself. Can you stay with me for now? We're finally all alone. Isn't it peaceful?"

"I suppose so."

"Oh Tom, you need to relax. It's the holidays."

"I am relaxed."

"You're as stiff as a board. Relax," she murmured, rubbing his shoulders and humming under her breath. It seemed like a familiar tune, something he should know, and he stiffened even more when he realized what it was.

"Since when do you listen to muggle music?"

"I, uh, don't. I heard someone singing it in the hallway. It's catchy."

"I understand."

The truth was that her behavior as of late had been more than suspicious. Either Sakura Haruno was not who she said she was or he was getting paranoid. He preferred to believe that a little stress had seeped into his life and that this was the effect. There was no way Sakura Haruno was not who she seemed to be. She was easier to see through than an invisibility cloak. Her hands relaxed against his shoulders and she drew herself closer to him. "Hey Tom, tomorrow's Christmas."

"Obviously."

"What do you want to do?"

"I would prefer to study. I have N.E.W.T.s in five months, and I need to be prepared."

"It's just one day. You should take it off and spend the day with me," she said seductively.

Tom Riddle held back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat. He mustered up a grin and turned back to Sakura. "As you wish."

She squealed in joy and crushed him in her embrace. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it." She walked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory and that was the last he had to see of her for the day. It was a breath of fresh air and he intended to enjoy it. Tom moved up the stairs to his private room and charmed the door to warn him if anyone was within ten feet. He changed into pajamas and climbed into the bed with a tome on the dark arts beside him. A little light reading before bed always insured that he had pleasant dreams.

Christmas morning at Hogwarts was a dream come true—to everyone but Tom. He received few presents, mostly small trinkets from his followers who wanted to gain favor and a large present from Sakura. Rolling his eyes at the sentiment "I love you!" he opened it and looked down at the music box. What kind of girl bought her boyfriend a music box? The crazy kind obviously. He tossed it aside and ate a chocolate frog from the Malfoy boy. It tasted quite good, but the taste soured in his mouth when he thought of what lay before him. A whole day with the distasteful Sakura Haruno. The muggle who was born on this day had better give him the strength to not curse her.

The second he had left his room said girl bounded up to him and kissed him on the lips. It was a flagrant display of affection that he was glad no one could see. He had to practically pry her away from him and when he did manage to she would not stop smiling. She was as excited as a damn niffler. "Happy Christmas, Tom!"

"To you also."

"Shall we have breakfast?"

"I suppose so."

"You don't seem excited. Come on, it's Christmas," she said.

"I am excited."

"Then look it," she teased, kissing him again. He played along and, after a breakfast of eggs and toast, she seemed to calm down. She started babbling on about making snow angels and having a snow ball fight. He managed to somehow divert her ideas of merriment into a trip to the library and so they spent the majority of the afternoon there. Sakura did not seem happy with the arrangement, but she had long ago learned that she had to either go with him or be without him. Their relationship was based on how well she followed orders, and she was good at that job.

The Christmas dinner was spectacular and when it was over they retired to the common room. The fire crackled and the shadows danced across her face, distorting it into something both beautiful and dangerous. To think of Sakura as dangerous seemed a rather funny thing and he chuckled as he thought of it.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing really. I just imagined you as a dangerous person."

"I'm not dangerous?"

"Not at all."

"Then why do you think I'm in Slytherin?"

"You are pureblood."

"Actually," she paused, "I'm not."

"I beg your pardon."

"In fact…I'm a mudblood."

"No. You can't be," he said, reaching for his wand.

"I can be," she said. "_Petrificus totalus!"_

Tom was caught off guard and unprepared for the spell. He felt his body go stiff and he mentally cursed himself when Sakura reached into his robe and pulled out his wand. She smiled at him and it was so unlike the girl he knew that he felt he was seeing her for the first time. Twirling his wand in her nimble fingers, she put her own wand back in her robes.

"You're probably wondering what the hell is going on. I hate doing monologues, but I may make an exception. You are planning on becoming Lord Voldemort. In fact you are going to become him, gain power, and try to take over the world. I am here to stop that. You, in the future, kill everyone I love. I, in return, am going to kill you. It seems only fair. I save the world and you sacrifice yourself for the greater good. Everyone's happy!"

Tom was fuming. She had tricked him. Her innocent airhead façade had gotten by his senses. She had managed to be everything he was looking for: pureblood, idiotic, with connections who would follow his every command. He had never imagined her turning on him. It was always he who turned her away. Now she was showing him that she had always had the upper hand, never he, and she was flaunting it. Unfortunately for her, he knew non-verbal spells and was able to release himself. He maintained his position of immobility, waiting for her speaking to cease so that he could take back his wand. She turned away for barely a second as the fire cracked and he leapt forward, the wand sliding into his hand easily. She reached for her own wand and grasped it, lifting it up at him. He raised his own wand at the traitor.

"_Avada kedavra!"_

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**Rayne Says: The ending is meant to be ambiguous. You can make the ending fit anything you want it to. I know that it's not perfect, but I was unsure about half way through so it might not be as awesome as it could have been. What are you interested in next? I'm working on one for Bleach, Fruits Basket, Skip Beat!, and Death Note. So if you want anything review and tell me. I can't read your minds through the interweb. Love and waffles3**


	17. Remember Me

**Rayne Says: I have been on an update-high because of all of your nice reviews. Thank you so much. So I noticed that I hadn't written a Bleach one for a while so I did. Although it's not Ichigo (like many of you want) I hope that you'll appreciate it. Also not as fluff-ish as some of you would like- this story line may be improved on. Read and review :)**

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**Remember Me**

_SakuraxKisuke_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

It began with a frying pan.

More specifically, it began with a wok that Sakura was convinced hated her with a burning passion. She thought this because every time she tried to fry something it ended up as the charred remains of a hopeful meal. She had spent way too much money on this thing to not even be able to eat out of it. It was only her it hated. When Ino had made peanut chicken stir fry the other night it had come out beautifully. The frying pan was clearly demon spawn and deserved to be destroyed… or at least returned for a full refund.

So one night she loaded up her purse and the pan into the basket of her bike, and peddled off into the night in search of the store where she'd foolishly splurged. Pulling around a corner she almost missed it, but came to a screeching stop in front of the store. It stood out compared to the surrounding buildings because due to its old-fashioned looks and for that she was glad. She was going to go inside and give the owner a piece of her mind.

Sakura dumped her bike on the ground, grabbed her purse and the pan, and slammed open the screen. Technically she knew that the shop was closed, but that didn't matter in her quest for a full refund. A small bell rang above the door, and she (somewhat) calmly waited for the owner to appear. He didn't. She tapped her foot and scanned the room in case he was hiding. It was dark, but she could barely make out the shapes of the wares. "Hello?" she called.

No one answered.

She was about to turn around and give up when a shape lunged out of the darkness. Sakura shrieked and swung the frying pan to defend herself. It contacted with the shape, which grunted and fell to the floor. She was about to hit it again, when the shape groaned and tried to stand. "W-who are you?" she asked, trying to be brave.

"I was about to ask the same thing. You are, after all, in _my_ store."

"Oh, I'm sorry! You surprised me."

"We are closed," he drawled, standing up. He reached over and turned on a light. Sakura blinked at the sudden brightness. She now saw that the owner was a tall man with ash-blonde hair wearing a striped hat and clogs.

"I know, but I need to return this," she said, holding up the pan.

"You just hit me with that."

"Well, yes, but it's defective."

"If you're using it as a defensive weapon I think it works just fine."

"No. It sucks because it burns everything I try to cook in it."

"Oh? How unusual," he said, taking the pan from her and turning it over in his hands. She noticed that they looked soft, but slightly calloused and for a moment she wondered how they'd feel. Then she snapped out of it with a mental wok to the head. He kept turning it around in his hands, looking at it, and then he flipped it over. "It looks like it should work. Nothing seems defective about it."

"It doesn't work. I'll try to cook something for you to prove that it doesn't."

"Are you sure that you're not just a terrible cook?"

"I'm sure! I was just fine until I bought that wok from you three months ago. Now everything I cook turns to ashes."

"That does sound like quite the predicament. However, I will require proof before I give you compensation."

"What do you want?"

"I don't care," he drawled, tapping his cane once against the floor.

"Where's your kitchen then?"

"This way," he murmured, leading her back through the store and into the private quarters. It seemed like they were going in the opposite direction of where the kitchen should be. Sakura supposed that because it was his house he'd know where the kitchen is more than she. He opened a hole in the ground and she wondered why his kitchen would be in the cellar. She climbed down a ladder behind him and it seemed to take forever.

"This is taking forever. Can't you just give me a refund?"

"No," he sang, "you've got to prove to me that you want it."

Sakura groaned, but almost sighed in relief when the ladder ended and her feet touched down on…dirt? A light flicked on and she gasped out loud as she took in the massive underground room that they were in. She shrank back against the wall as thoughts of what he was going to do to her crossed through her mind. No one knew that she was here, and they were so far underground that no one would notice if she screamed. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. "Look…I'll go home. Never mind about the frying pan."

"Ne, Sakura-chan? Why don't you stay for a little while?"

"How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember? Well, no matter. I don't have time to go into how we've met and such at the moment. We have more important things to do right now."

"Please don't kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you," he chuckled. "It's all up to you."

"What's all up to me?" she asked.

"Whether you live or not," he said, holding up his cane and pushing it against her forehead. Sakura felt cold and realized that there was something coming out of her chest. A long chain sprouted out and trailed down to the ground. She stared in horror at her body on the ground. Was this what they called an out-of-body experience? She tried to tug the chain and the man shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What have you done to me?"

"Just a little soul removal. You'll be fine if you find your shinigami powers."

"What is a shinigami? Who are you? Put me back in my body!"

"All answers in good time, dear. For right now you need to run. Or else you really will be dead."

He lunged at her and she barely managed to dodge. She ran off in the opposite direction of him and tried to figure out if there was another exit. From the way it looked there wasn't another exit besides the ladder. She heard steps behind her and ran faster. If she could get away then maybe she could make it up the ladder and get help. He was gaining on her. Sakura jumped up as a large rock smashed right where he body had been. "Why are you doing this?"

"More running less talking or you'll die."

She shrieked as a hit landed to her back and she was kicked forward into a hill. Her body smashed up against it and she coughed as she struggled to stand. "Maybe you're weaker than I thought," he said, yawning as if it weren't any trouble to fight her.

Something in Sakura snapped and she stood up. "I am not weak!"

"Prove it."

Without thinking, she leapt forward and ran at him. Her fists punched at him, barely missing every time. He smirked slightly and she found that that made her even angrier. She shoved her body forward and skimmed over his cheek with her fist. He countered and his fist shoved into her stomach. Her body shot back into another hill and she forced herself up. If he wanted a fight, she'd do it.

"You're onto the second level, Sakura-chan."

"When do I get out of here?"

"Questions, questions," he said. He suddenly appeared beside her and a sword came down upon the chain. It cut in half and she stared in shock. Next thing she knew his hand pushed against her chest and she flew back and down. It seemed like she fell forever before landing on the ground. The hole she'd been put in was deep and it didn't seem like she could climb out of it easily. "Ne, Sakura-chan, if you don't get out of that hole soon you'll become a monster. Better figure out what to do soon."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Let me out!"

Sakura began to hyperventilate as she realized she wasn't going to get out of here. She was going to die in this hole and the weirdo owner was going to bury her down here. The chain was making some kind of weird noise and she looked down at it. The end of the chain was eating itself! She screamed and tried to pull it loose, but some wrappings tied themselves around her chest and arms until she wasn't able to use anything else but her legs. "What are you doing?"

"In case this doesn't work out I need to control you. When you're a monster I'll have to kill you."

She shivered at the truth in his words and stood up. If she ran full force at the wall she could make some progress, and it was at least worth a try. Moving to the end of one side of the hole she ran as fast as she could and managed to make it ten feet up the wall before falling. It was cold in the hole and she tried to loosen the wraps. They wouldn't budge. The chain continued to eat itself and she felt herself panic a little bit more. It was scaring her. What if she couldn't stop it?

"In case you weren't aware it's been almost seventy hours and you're about to turn into a monster."

Her heart rate cranked up and she tried to break free again. Nothing happened. She didn't want to die. Closing her eyes, she focused her breathing like she was taught to do in yoga and tried to focus. 'I need to escape. I need to get out of here.' She pulled her feet underneath her and stood up slowly. Something inside of her turned upside down and a great pain coursed through her body. It wrapped around her skin and it felt like she was both burning and freezing to death. Screams ripped out of her body and echoed through the hole. Something foreign poured out of her mouth and eyes like tears of marrow and started to form a shape around her face. 'No. I don't want this!'

Suddenly she was on an iceberg, surrounded by other icebergs and freezing ocean water. Her breath fogged up and she turned around, looking for someone. Was this what death was like? A woman stepped out of the ice, wearing black, and walked toward Sakura. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am. You have merely forgotten."

"Where am I?"

"You are inside of your mind. You are becoming a Hollow as we speak. There is not much time."

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to find your powers. It is inside one of the icebergs. You must find it before they all melt, or all is truly lost," she said softly, vanishing into the air.

As she finished speaking, the iceberg Sakura was on began to melt. Diving into the water, she found that she was able to breath and swam up the surface. She floated to the nearest iceberg and climbed on. From where she sat she saw thousands of icebergs melting and falling apart. According to the lady in black she had to find her 'powers' before they melted or else she'd die. If she was hallucinating then it was worth trying to survive. But how was she supposed to find one of the thousands of icebergs in the few moments she had before they all melted? Sakura closed her eyes and tried to think. A shiver crept up her spine and she tried to think of what could distinguish one iceberg from another. If she tried to think of colors then she supposed the one with her powers would be darker. If she pictured the icebergs as something other than icebergs they would be ribbons like the one Ino had given her long ago.

Thousands of blue ribbons flew out of the icebergs towards her, but only one of them was dark blue. She grasped onto it and pulled. Her body flew towards one of the icebergs and she landed on it. She saw a blade firmly placed into the ice. The woman reappeared beside it and smiled at Sakura. "Quickly, there is not much time left. Grasp onto the blade and pull it out."

She reached forward and placed her hands around the black guard with pink gems incrusted into it and pulled. A bright light shot out of the sword and the snowy world disappeared in the flash. She gasped as the feelings in her body violently came back. It felt like she was being torn apart and healed at the same time. Her body flew out of the hole and she felt like her she was watching what was happening through her own eyes, but the perspective was off. There was something on her face that she could see in the corners of her eyes. It was annoying her and she felt a vague presence in her mind. It demanded that she kill the hat and clog man. With all of her strength she grasped onto the hilt of the sword and slammed it against the mask on her face. It slowly shattered and, once it was gone, she met the store owner's eyes. He smiled.

"The second task is complete."

"What did you do to me?" she asked.

"I had hoped that you would remember by now. There is one more task ahead. If you pass it then I shall let you go."

"You will?"

"Absolutely. All you have to do is remove my hat."

Without speaking, Sakura ran at him. He managed to dodge her first attack, but her second swing landed on his arm. He brought up his cane to defend himself and as their blades met something in that action seemed familiar—as if they had fought before. She attacked again and again, trying to remove the damn hat. Each time he either dodged or matched her moves to prevent the success of her attacks. They moved in what seemed like a choreographed dance, their movements synced and matched. She backed up as he brought up his cane and unsheathed a sword. Her own sword was still broken, and she wasn't sure how to remedy that.

_"Say my name and you shall regain your strength. I am Kurohime. Remember who I am."_

"Freeze, Kurohime! Koori ono," Sakura said, the sword in her hands glittering and taking on another form. It shaped into a giant axe that, despite its size, felt natural in her grasp. She jumped at the man and swung the axe down in a wide arch. It smashed into the ground and rocks flew up into the air. She swung it at the man, aiming for his neck, and he ducked—making the green and white striped hat flutter slowly to the dirt. Sakura reached her hand down as her sword shaped back into a normal blade and helped Kisuke Urahara up.

"You remember now?"

"I owe you big time, sir. How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't."

"I could have become a Hollow. I think that I did. What does that mean?" she asked her former captain, pausing to take in his facial features now that they were familiar to her again. He reached down to put his hat back on and smiled at her.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, how about showing me that defective frying pan now?" he teased.

"I still intend on getting my refund, Kisuke-dono."

It ended with a frying pan.

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**Rayne Says: Did you like it? Have a suggestion? Then review!**

**Translations:**

**Kurohime: Black princess**

**Koori ono: Ice axe**


	18. Sweet Tooth

**Rayne Says: Another update for all of you. Some of you have been asking for this pairing for a while and I have finally written it. I give credit to Tsugumi Ohba for some of the dialogue that L says. I hope that you enjoy it. Remember to review because I update much faster when you do.**

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**Sweet Tooth**

_LxSakura_

_.:L's P.O.V.:._

The greatest detective the world had ever known, or really never known, was impatiently crossing the street. Several cars swerved as he calmly ignored the crosswalk and instead jaywalked to his destination. It had not occurred to him to look for resources to supply his habit in the nearby vicinity. Once the idea had crossed his mind he had abandoned his laptop and left to find a shop. Not just any shop, but a sweets shop called Kanbashii Chisou Kafe. According to his resources it was determined that they not only had the best pastries, but also sold fruit. It was as if the store was made for him. He had done some preliminary research regarding the creators of each cake and he had determined that there were three separate chefs. One of the cakes had used too much salt, negating the sweetness. Another had used too much sugar. The last one had used more vanilla than the standard recipe called for, but he had determined it to be the best of the three. Now he was determined to hire the chef who had made the cake.

The bell over the door rang as he opened it, announcing him to the pink-haired girl behind the counter. Her head snapped up from the book and her bright green eyes met his dark ones. "Hello. How may I help you?"

"I am looking for Sakura Haruno."

"I am she. Who is asking?"

"My name is Hideki Ryuga."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Did you make this cake?" he said, holding up the box that the cake had come in. She took the container from him, peered at the label, and nodded her head.

"Strawberry vanilla cake, buttercream frosting, correct?"

"Yes. May I offer you a job?"

"…I have a job," she said, biting the corner of her lip and flipping the hair out of her eyes.

"Clearly. I, however, will pay you quite well if you become my personal cook."

"Excuse me?"

"I have become rather busy with my job as of late and tend to forget to eat. My servant is also busy and I need your help to feed me," he said, biting his thumb and watching her for her reaction. It was clear that she was uncomfortable, but she had not tried to call the authorities yet. It could be that she was thinking over his proposal and might accept it. That would be ideal. "Sakura, yes? I promise that I will pay you well, and provide a room for you. You will have everything you could possibly want."

"Why would you hire a pastry chef? Wouldn't a professional chef be better?"

"My tastes are…unique. You fit the profile of what I have been looking for. I have sample thousands of cakes, but yours was unlike them all. You took a risk adding that extra vanilla, but it did not detract from the overall cake."

"You noticed that?"

"I notice everything. You are reading _Dracula_ so I can either assume that you are a student and it is for homework or that you enjoy the horror genre. This is an anomaly in the female gender for the most part as women prefer peace to violence. You bite your lip and toss your head to the left when you are nervous, as you are now. You have a scar on the palm of your hand, most likely from an incident in the kitchen as you do not look suicidal. Do you believe me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Do you accept my proposal?"

"I have to think about it. Random strangers don't come up and ask to hire you every day."

"I understand. Would a day suffice?"

"I guess so."

"Very well. I shall see you tomorrow," he said, turning and walking out of the store. It seemed unlikely that she would say no. He had not meant to throw in that she could stay with him. He was desperate to have her serve him. If she did then it meant he would not have to leave his room and could focus entirely on the Kira case. Today was the day that he would address Interpol and propose his theories and ideas to them. He would need their cooperation to catch this killer that the world was calling 'Kira.' It was going to be an interesting game that was for sure.

He returned to his apartment and sat back down on the floor in front of the laptop that he had neglected. The cell phone on the floor next to him rang and he picked it up. "Hello?"

"L, Interpol has begun their meeting."

"Very well. I shall begin listening in."

He could hear the officers panicking over what to do and theorizing about who Kira was and how they were going to catch them. Eventually they began to discuss asking him to be on the case and Watari interrupted them, stating that he already was. It was time for his speech. "Good afternoon. This is L. the case before us is unprecedented in scope and difficulty…and is a monstrous crime of mass murder that must be stopped at all costs! In order to solve it, I request the full cooperation of the police worldwide, with a resolution to that effect passed at the Interpol meeting today."

"L… Interpol has passed a resolution promising you their full cooperation," Watari said.

"Good. I strongly request the cooperation of the Japanese police, in particular."

The Japanese police had become flustered upon accusing that Kira was Japanese, but had agreed to work with him. It was then that he put forth his plan to narrow down where Kira could be hiding. He would broadcast a meeting, put forth a fake L, and put it forth to one region at a time. He would begin with the Kanto region of Japan, as it was largest, and work from there. If he was lucky then Kira would be there. If not then Lind L. Taylor would have nothing to lose. After all, he was a dead man walking.

It was going to be tricky catching Kira, but surely the killer was not a match for him. He would have to be a genius to compare. If so then the game would be worth it. A part of him was hoping that it would. He had not had a case like this for quite a while. It would be thrilling to see how it all worked out.

The next morning dawned bright and early, with L not having slept the night before. He was mainly working through theories on how Kira could be killing people all over the world without coming into direct contact with them. It was possible that he was directing others to do the work in the hopes of some kind of perverted justice. It would seem as if Kira thought that he was a God of some kind. L would put a stop to those grand expectations once and for all.

He stood up and walked down to the street. The bell over the door rang again and a woman with long blonde hair looked up. She smiled at him and tossed her hair back. "Hi, I'm Ino. How can I help you, cutie?"

"Is Sakura Haruno here?"

"Oh. She should be around in five minutes or so. She said something about needing to decide about something."

"I see."

"Can I help you with anything while you're waiting? A cookie perhaps? I made them fresh myself."

A cookie did sound tempting, but if the pale-haired girl had made them (who he suspected was the girl who had added too much salt) then he was not interested. Just as he was about to decline her offer, the bell rang again and the girl he was waiting for came in. Her eyes widened as she took in his full appearance and he saw the thoughts that crossed her mind as they occurred. First she looked down at his bare feet moved up to his messy jeans to his white t-shirt and finally to his black hair. She smiled slightly, nodded towards Ino, and walked up to him. "Mr. Hideki, I have thought about your offer and I'm afraid that I will have to say no."

"That is terrible. I am afraid that I will have to insist that you do come with me."

"What's going on?" the girl, Ino, said.

"He offered me a job. I said no Mr. Hideki. I prefer my job here."

"How can you prefer something if you have never tried the other thing? I promised you payment as well as a place to live. Will you at least try and see if you enjoy it?"

"Uh, excuse my friend here for a second," Ino said, grabbing the pink-haired girl and dragging her behind the counter. "Sakura! This guy offered you a job with benefits and you're saying no without even trying it out for a day or two?"

L guessed that that was the Ino girl's version of whispering. He was hoping that her friend could take some sense into Sakura. He did not want to have to kidnap the girl to be able to consume her sweets. That would not go over well with Interpol. The girls continued arguing back and forth before Sakura sighed and turned back to him. "Look. I'll try it out for a day or two, okay? Just to see, but I'm not promising that I'll stay."

"Very well. Thank you for your cooperation. If you will go with me now I find that I am in the mood for breakfast."

"Ino, if I don't come back then he killed me."

Ino laughed, but L had the feeling Sakura was not joking. Trust was something that would have to be built between them. He had deduced that love made the food taste so much better. If he could get the girl to form a companionship with him then the cakes and pies she would make would most likely be delicious. Sakura followed behind him, and appeared to look for a car once they were outside. "I walked here."

"Oh."

She walked beside him in silence, and they arrived at his apartment soon after. She took in the computer screens and the bare minimal decorations. He showed her the kitchen and asked for something sweet. Sakura looked surprised that he should want sweets this early in the morning, but still said nothing after he had left. He went back to his laptop and continued work on the Kira case. Today he was going to confront Kira and narrow down his location. The hunt was beginning.

Sakura came around the corner and laid down a small platter in front of him. He could barely restrain himself from smiling at the large stack of cupcakes heaped with blue frosting. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. You are free to choose an empty room for yourself. Can you also fix me some tea? Normally, Watari does this for me but he is busy at Interpol for the moment."

"You are working with Interpol?"

"Yes. I am working on the Kira case."

Her eyes clouded over and her hands squeezed. It was obvious that the topic made her uncomfortable. She bit the corner of her lip and flipped her hair to the left, proving his point. "You're a detective?"

"Yes. Do you have a personal investment in the Kira case?"

"No. I-I don't."

"It's not in your best interest to keep secrets from me. I can usually deduce them."

"So I remember. Look, I… my father-"

"Was killed by Kira? Yes, I know. Three weeks ago in fact."

"You knew and you still asked me?" she said, her voice betraying hurt.

"I need to be clear that you will not keep secrets from me. I will not keep most secrets from you. This is an honesty deal, do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. I prefer Earl Gray tea, thank you."

She said nothing and walked back to the kitchen. He called Watari to make sure that everything was set for tonight. Lind L. Taylor would be at the studio, prepared with what he needed to say, and would not do anything. They had offered him lenience in return for his cooperation, but, mostly likely, L knew that Kira would kill him. Then, they could discover how Kira was killing. Sakura returned and set down his tea. He drank it happily and clicked away on the laptop.

Several hours later everything was ready. He turned on the T.V. and watched as Lind L. Taylor introduced himself as L. The actual L was surprised at how believable the man was, especially when calling Kira evil. Seconds later, Taylor fell over dead. So his hunch was correct. Speaking into the microphone he told Kira how his theory had been proven. Now he knew that Kira was in the Kanto region and he could kill without direct contact. But how was he doing it?

Sakura had somehow appeared behind him and looked shocked. Her hand was over her mouth, her eyes glistening slightly, and she slowly crumpled to the floor. L disconnected with Interpol and the network and went over to her. "Sakura, are you well?"

"I think I'm going to throw up," she gasped, and he managed to guide her to the bathroom where she emptied her stomach into the toilet. He held her hair back and watched, mildly interested, as she wiped her mouth and tried to stand. "I-I'm sorry. It's my first day and you're already holding my hair back. I can go right now if you want."

"No. I understand why you would feel this way. Did you watch the death?"

"Unfortunately. Is that how my dad died?" she asked.

"Most likely."

"Sometimes I don't want you to be honest."

"Was that one of those times? I apologize for my forwardness."

"Yes and okay. Did you need anything?"

"I would appreciate some strawberries," he drawled, taking another sip of his now-cold tea, "and another cup of tea."

"Yes sir."

"You don't need to call me sir. We're friends."

"Of course," she said, leaving.

L looked down at the computer screen. He replayed what had happened in the past few minutes with Kira to himself, trying to draw conclusions. It seemed that Kira could not kill him for some reason. Was it because he could not see him? Or was it due to the fact that his name was a mystery? Was there some reason that Kira was unable to kill him? The most important question is how he was doing it?

His thoughts veered away from Kira to Sakura. Had it been a mistake to hire someone connected to the case he was working on? It was possible that he had miscalculated her reactions, but so far she had proved to be an apt cook. Speaking of Sakura, she reappeared and brought him a bowl of strawberries with sugar sprinkled on them and a new cup of tea. He offered her a smile, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Mr. Hideki? May I ask something?"

"You may," he replied, mildly worried that she could be quitting from the position.

"I wish to be included in the investigation."

"Why?"

"Before I became a pastry chef, I wanted to be a detective. I wanted to catch people like my father and protect innocent civilians."

"Do you have any deductive abilities?"

"Do you have the times of death?"

"Yes," he said, handing them over to her. She scanned over them and gave them back.

"From what I've seen it would be my hypothesis that Kira is a student. The times of death on weekdays are from four to two in the morning. On the weekends the times vary. This could indicate someone dominated by a schedule."

L looked over the papers and saw that her hypothesis could in fact be valid. He smiled at the girl. The chances of finding a girl who could bake sweets and make valid deductive reasonings? Rare. She was a keeper. "Sakura, you are welcome to aide in the investigation, but should things become complicated, I want you to follow whatever instructions I give you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied, reaching forward and hugging him. It was a surprise at first and he recoiled slightly, but then welcomed. She released him and blushed, realizing what she'd just done and apologized.

"It is of no consequence. We are friends, remember?"

"Right. It's almost dinner time. What would you like?"

"Cherry pie would be lovely."

"Do you ever eat real food?"

"I prefer sweets. Why would I eat anything other than what I prefer?" he replied.

She smiled and playfully hit his shoulder before disappearing from the room. L called Watari and told him of the new addition at the house so the old man would not have a heart attack upon finding her in the morning. The smell of baking reached his nose and his smile grew wider. It was curious that he had not thought of the idea of hiring a baker before. One would think that someone of his intelligence would have come to that conclusion a long time ago.

"Do you mind if I eat with you?" she said, sitting down on the floor beside him. She handed him a plate with a slice of pie on it and held her own plate with eggs, bacon, and toast on it.

"Not at all. Is that not a traditional breakfast? Why are you eating it for dinner?"

"We both have odd eating habits. I like breakfast for dinner: simple as that."

"Odd indeed."

"And why are you sitting like that?" she asked.

"If I were to sit like an average person then I would lost 40% of my intelligence."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Definitely odd. Do you like your pie?"

"Best pie I've ever had."

"The best pie you've had _yet_."

"You are staying?" he asked, hoping that the answer was yes.

"How am I supposed to work with you on the case if I'm a block away? I'm staying for the case."

"Not for me?"

"And for you, I guess. After all, we're just friends right?"

"Yes. Just friends," he replied, smiling. If the hunch he was having right now was true then Sakura Haruno would prove to be more than just a friend after a while. L found that the idea did not trouble him at all, despite knowing that he had a case to solve and it could put her life in danger, and he wondered if she tasted as sweet as the cakes she made.

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**Rayne Says: So it's not overly romantic, but you could build on it. The idea of Kira being a student is not exactly said to be all of L's idea so I took the liberty of having Sakura help. Let's remember that she's smart. So review and tell me who you want to see next or again and what you thought of the chapter!**


	19. The Bet

**Rayne Says: Like I said, the more reviews I get the more I write. Thank you so much for all of the reviews you're giving. They make my day. So here's a new chapter of Sakura Ai with inspiration from Ouran High School Host Club.**

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**The Bet**

_SakuraxKyoya_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

The second Sakura spotted Kyoya poking his head into brightly lit ballroom filled with men she knew he was up to something. The "Shadow King" of the Ouran High School Host Club did not leave his position during prime business hours for an idle trip into a wing on the other side of the building. So, obviously, he was up to no good. Sakura tightened her ponytail, smoothed her shirt, and pushed up her glasses to go challenge her sworn enemy. Her walk was confident. Her air was intelligent. Several heads turned as she passed, but she ignored them. Being distracted while a shark was in her tank would be dangerous.

"Ah, what do we owe the pleasure, Kyoya-san?" she asked, curtsying slightly as common courtesy demanded.

"If it was pleasure you sought why not visit the music room, Sakura-chan?" he teased.

"If I sought pleasure I could find it here," she replied, blushing furiously as she realized how improper their conversation sounded.

"So I see. Business is well?"

"You would know. Your spies spend a good amount of time among the ladies."

"As they should be doing. Yours as well."

"Precisely."

The tenseness in the air was thick. She always hated their encounters, though they had grown in frequency since Ino and she had formed the Ouran High School Hostess Club. Ino had grown tired of Sakura complaining about the trips to the boys' club and had lightly commented that she 'make her own then.' Sakura had liked the idea so much that she had. It hadn't taken much to find the perfect ladies that catered to the males of Ouran. Besides, the gentlemen were thankful to have ladies that didn't drool over the Host boys and were willing to pay a higher cost.

Ino herself was the big draw. She was blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful. The majority of a day's profits came from her area of the room where she would entertain them with tales of suitors' failures. In another corner, Hinata Hyuuga sat quietly and drew her own fans. Men loved her because she was sweet, kind, and cute. The double duo in the far corner were Temari and Ten Ten; two girls who loved to play to a crowd. They were both tough and hard-to-get, but most of their crowd loved that about them. Finally, there was pint-sized Naruko who usually was near Hinata, but skipped around the room as she so wished. Her full Lolita outfits made her look like a doll and, though quite a few of her clients were a little creepy, most just wanted to feed her sweets and make her laugh.

Sakura didn't count herself as a Hostess. She was just the manager. Well aware that Kyoya had his own clients she'd been pondering the notion, but was worried it would distract her from the job. Besides, with the way she dressed she'd never get a crowd. Black dress pants, a white blouse, black heels, her pink hair up, and thick-rimmed glasses didn't make for cute or adorable. It made for intelligence and lethality—just the intimidating look she wanted Kyoya to see her in. And here he was.

"Lost in thought again?"

"No. I'm just intrigued by why you are here. Can you possibly be interested in an afternoon with one of my girls?" she gasped, knowing full well he wasn't remotely interested.

"I'm afraid not. You see, Sakura-chan, I've been wondering which of the clubs is better."

"Excuse me?"

"Our clubs are essentially the same idea. But I wonder which makes more money in a week? Ours or yours?"

"It is a good question you raise though the answer is obvious—we do."

"I doubt it."

"Care to make a bet then?" she asked, her temper rising at his pride. It would be his downfall!

"A healthy wager sounds like an excellent idea. We shall see who makes the most money in a week. Winner gets the privilege of being the best club of its nature."

"Agreed. Perhaps we should…sweeten the deal?"

"I can see that you are definitely related to Tsunade-sama. You just keep digging your own grave."

"The difference is that I win my bets. The losing club has to let the winner's manager take over for a month afterward."

"Week."

"Deal."

He reached out his hand and Sakura grasped it firmly in hers. His skin was surprisingly chilly for the natural heating of the indoor room, but not uncomfortable. Kyoya's skin was so soft and- no! She was not going to think such things about her mortal enemy. He was going to lose.

"You can let go of my hand now."

She blushed and let go. He smirked to himself, nodded at Ino who was approaching Sakura, and exited without a good-bye. Ever so arrogant and rude.

"What was that about?"

"I just made a bet."

"With Kyoya!" Ino asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"After hours today I want a meeting with all the girls."

"I'll go tell them. I don't like the look in your eyes, Sakura. You're up to something."

"Yes I am, and Kyoya is going to regret ever walking into this room."

"Oh, he's so screwed," Ino muttered, walking toward Hinata to tell her of the meeting.

Sakura smiled to herself and fixed her glasses again. Then she got a glass of water, surveyed the room, and walked to her own table to relax and come up with ideas for Kyoya's loss. A gentle hand roamed over her neck and she turned; only mildly surprised to see Kankuro. He smirked and laid his arm around her shoulders, before drawing her closer.

"What are you scheming, cherry blossom?"

"My enemy's downtrodden expression," she giggled, the image of Kyoya's despair playing in her head.

"Ever the optimist. You never know, Kyoya could win."

"Say that again and I'll ban you from the club for a month," she replied.

"I understand."

"If you continue to stay with me, Kankuro-san, you'll need to pay for my company."

"Ah, of course," he smiled, pulling several bills from his suit. "Is this enough for you?"

"Yes."

"Sometimes, Sakura-chan, you seem so cold. I wonder why that is."

"Because I care about results, not the means to obtain them."

"That may be your downfall."

"Liar," she smirked, bumping Kankuro's arm with her own. "How was your day?"

"Boring as hell. You make the day way more interesting," he said, toying with the edge of her skirt. "You know if you girls started showing more skin-"

"We are not whores, Kankuro."

"Just a suggestion. It's something you have over the Hosts. Feminine wiles often prevail over the masculine attempts."

"Sometimes you seem wise."

"What are you talking about? I am wise."

"Wiser than Naruto-san at least."

"Yes and-hey! I'm way smarter than he is," Kankuro pouted.

"Of course, Kankuro-san. Is there anything you desire of my company today?"

"You know what I want."

"Tea perhaps?"

"For the time being, I'll accept tea."

Sakura nodded and poured him a cup. Lately, Kankuro's advances had become more and more direct and it was mildly worrying her. Even with Kakashi-sensei being a bodyguard for her girls, he couldn't watch over them all the time. She wasn't naïve. Men had stronger desires than women and would do anything to sate their lust. Hinata had been the victim of an unfortunate incident involving groping. Luckily, Neji had been in the room visiting Ten Ten and had dispatched the pervert before Kakashi had moved a muscle. If there was one thing Neji hated, it was perverts hitting on his little cousin.

Neji's chivalry most likely didn't apply to Sakura, and she was left to defend herself from Kankuro's blatant attempts to seduce her.

"Mmm, the tea is delicious. Did you make it?"

"No, Kankuro-san. Naruko-chan did. That's why it's so sweet," she smiled, bringing up her hand to move away a stray hair. Kankuro grabbed her wrist and held it tightly.

"I think you're sweet, Sakura-chan. May I have a taste?"

Her eyes widened as he leaned in, but before his lips touched her own a shadow appeared over the couple.

"Is there a problem here, Miss Sakura?" Kakashi asked, glaring down at Kankuro.

"No, Kakashi-sensei. Kankuro was just leaving."

"I see. Then he should let go of your arm and leave."

"I got it, Sakura-chan. You must be tired. I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled, trailing his fingers over her skin. She shivered.

Kankuro left and Kakashi scanned the room before sitting down next to her. "He gets bolder every day. You need to watch out for him, Miss Sakura."

"I know," she whispered. Sakura stood up and smoothed out her skirt before walking around the club and checking on the other girls. It was close to closing time and she wanted to make sure that their patrons knew that. They could get rather whiny when it came time for their fun to end. It looked like Temari was beating a whole group of boys at poker despite Sakura having told her that if she kept stealing their money they wouldn't have anything to pay for the club with.

As Sakura walked she tried to think of ideas for how to beat Kyoya. There was truth in the fact they would make more money if they showed off their assets. However, sinking to that low of a level simply because of a bet would not rest easily on her conscience. She ran a hand through the unruly bangs that had escaped her ponytail and took a deep calming breath. Something about Kyoya always made it hard to breathe. She couldn't explain it, and it bugged her that he had this effect on her.

The clock in the ballroom chimed five and all of the male heads instantly drooped down. Smiling her best get-the-hell-out-of-here smile she beaconed to the door. No one moved. She gestured her head to Kakashi and they all instantly stood up and hustled out of the doorway. As soon as all of the men were gone Ino huffed and relaxed into the couch. "Jeesh, we were busy today. So what did you want to tell everyone, Sakura?"

"I made a wager with Kyoya today."

Everyone visibly turned white and groaned. "Sakura!"

"I usually win," she said.

"Usually being the key word. What did you bet, Sakura?" Ten Ten asked.

"Whoever wins gets to run the other's club."

"We're doomed."

"You have so little faith in me. Now does anyone have any ideas as to how we can get more customers?"

"We could have a tea party with lots of cake!" Naruko giggled.

"A fighting competition," Ten Ten suggested.

"A poker tournament," Temari smiled.

"A raffle to win a date with each of us?" Ino said.

"A pool party," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sempai…you're a pervert."

"Just saying that it's a good idea."

"Hinata, do you have an idea?"

"A ball?"

Everyone seemed excited about that one. Sakura knew that they were all good ideas, but how were they supposed to be scheduled. "Okay, so we'll start with the tea party, then the poker tournament with the raffle, the fighting competition is out because that's against club rules, the pool party is okay, maybe we could have a movie night, and we'll end with the ball."

"That sounds good," Ten Ten said.

"So we're all in agreement?"

"Yup!"

"Then we're done for today. Be here on time tomorrow for the announcement about next week."

Everyone stood up and left. Sakura hovered in the room for a moment, checked that everything was set for tomorrow, and turned off the light. She left the ballroom and walked to her dormitory. The halls were filled with shadows and she looked out of the window at the sunset. A chill fell down her spine and she hurried back to her room.

The next day the patrons of the Ouran High School Hostess Club announced their "spirit" week to the enjoyment of all of the men. Unknown to Sakura, a flash of glasses in the corner announced that they were being watched by her rival.

The Spirit Week started off well. All of the boys seemed to enjoy the girls being dressed up in Lolita fashion and eating cakes and serving tea. The talk was light and everyone was enjoying themselves. The next day was the poker competition and Temari won. On Wednesday the club watched an anime movie, with several kisses in the dark taking place. Thursday, unfortunately, was the pool party.

Kakashi had gotten another teacher, Iruka, to help supervise the party and make sure that they were safe. She was grateful for that. All of the other girls were wearing skimpy swimsuits, with the exception of Hinata who wore a one piece. Sakura herself was self-conscious about her exposed body parts. Her swimsuit was a red bikini and she caught Kakashi looking at her once, but she knew that he was just checking on her. Kankuro had been getting more crass and forward with his advances. Kakashi had had to remove Kankuro several times. It was worrying her, but she couldn't afford to turn him away. She wanted to win.

The sound of splashing and laughing reached her ears. Ino and Naruko were playing chicken with Ten Ten and Temari. Several boys stood by watching, their jaws practically touching the water. Sakura smiled and wrote down several notes on her clipboard. A hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to a bare chest. She blushed and looked up to see brown spiky hair. "Kankuro."

"Hey cutie, you look good. You should wear a bikini all of the time."

"Thank you. Why don't you go into the water with the other boys?"

"I'd prefer to stay here. You're the one I want."

"That's good, but I'd better get back to work."

"Can I persuade you to go somewhere with me?"

"No, I'm busy."

"I insist," Kankuro said, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her out of the room. Sakura looked to Kakashi for help, but he and Iruka were dealing with someone harassing Hinata. They wouldn't see her. Kankuro took her out of the room and pushed her against the wall. His body pressed against hers and his lips crushed down. She tried to push him away but he was stronger than she was. Her glasses were shoved up against her face and it was all she could do to make a groan. Kankuro apparently took that as consent for him to grope her. She kept trying to push him away.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

Kankuro stopped his assault on Sakura and looked up to meet Kyoya's eyes. "Get out of here Ootori."

"I cannot simply leave when you are being inappropriate to a lady."

"Yes you can. Leave now. Besides, Sakura-chan doesn't mind. She likes it."

Sakura's eyes pleaded with Kyoya to do something. He met her gaze and turned back to Kankuro. "She wants you to let her go. Do so now or I will report you to the authorities."

At the mention of the police, Kankuro released her and stumbled down the hall cursing. Sakura let out a deep breath and her legs collapsed under her. Kyoya bent down and put his hand on her shoulder. She tried to stand, but couldn't and took large gulps of air.

"You're hyperventilating."

"I know that!" she said, tears leaking into her eyes as she tried to shake him off. "Don't tell anybody."

"Why?"

"I don't want them to worry. It will only distract them. Please don't."

"Very well, but I want something in return."

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Promise me a dance at your ball tomorrow. That's all."

"I promise," she said. "Thank you."

He helped her to stand up then led her back to the ballroom. "You look nice."

"Is there a price on compliments now?"

"That one was free."

She smiled and he walked out. Everything was just as she'd left it. The girls were still laughing and the boys were still enjoying the view. Kakashi approached her and looked down. She also did. There was a small bruise forming on her wrist and she quickly put it behind her back.

"Where did you go?"

"The bathroom. I'm fine. How is it going here?"

"Good. Are you sure that you're okay?"

"Yes. Thank you Kakashi-sempai."

He nodded and walked away. Sakura found her sarong and tied it around her body. She didn't feel like being half-naked anymore. The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully and she could almost forget that a few hours previously she'd been almost raped.

The next afternoon, Sakura was frantically trying to make sure that all of the details were set for the ball. Ino seemed content to lay back and watch her do all of the work. She made sure that the streamers were hung properly, the punch tasted good, the cake was perfectly symmetrical, and that the band were warmed up and ready. Finally, she smoothed out her dress and shook the hair that had fallen into her eyes. Ino had demanded that she keep her hair down for the occasion and that she 'not hover in the corner like a creeper.' Besides a part of Sakura (a very very small part) wanted to look good for Kyoya.

The party began and the men flocked in. They complimented the girls and asked for dances. Sakura had never seen so many smiles. She looked down at her clipboard and began tallying how many customers they had had this week. The number came down to 499 men total. She wondered how many Kyoya had.

"If you are wondering how many customers we have had, the amount is 499."

"How odd. I have the same number."

"I suppose that means a tie."

"Actually…now that you are here I have 500."

"Well played Sakura. Now, I do believe that you owe me a dance?"

"I suppose that I do."

A slow waltz began and she put one of her hands in his and the other on his shoulder. His other hand rested gently on her waist. It felt comfortable, and she actually found that she was enjoying it. They moved around the dance floor and she felt something in her heart swell. His eyes were enchanting and she couldn't tear her own away from his. Why hadn't she noticed that he was incredibly good-looking? She tried to tear her mind away from the infatuated thoughts, but found that it was impossible. Something about him begged her to pay attention to everything he said.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Would you find me terribly rude if I kissed you?" he asked.

"No," she sighed.

Reaching forward, he pressed his lips against hers. It was soft, short, and sweet, but Sakura found that she was unable to breathe again. Did that mean that all along, without her knowledge, she'd been falling for Kyoya Ootori? It seemed impossible, but it felt right. He kissed her again and she found herself wishing that the night would never end.

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**Rayne Says: Review and give me ideas. Do you want the next chapter to be lust, love, or friendship? Cute or serious? Hot and heavy or light and funny? You have to tell me because I can't read your minds. 3**


	20. Just Tonight

**Rayne Says: Hi guys! Two updates in one day because I might not have one tomorrow. Here's another couple that some people have been desiring. Warning! This is rated M due to contraversial issues. You have been warned. Please review at the end with ideas. Also, I suggest that you listen to "Just Tonight" by The Pretty Reckless because it is the inspiration for the chapter title.**

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**Just Tonight**

_KanamexSakura_

_.:Kaname's P.O.V.:._

Kaname Kuran walked down the hallway of the Moon dormitory and paused at the bottom of the stairwell. It seemed that Aido was doing something stupid…again. Sighing, he walked down the staircase and calmly hit Aido on the head with a text. Said vampire stopped his blathering and started whining about how cruel he was. Kaname was not cruel. At least not in the possible ways he could be. He walked through the small crowd of vampires and opened the door. Ruka tried to stop him, but he gently pushed her away. He had matters to attend to.

Walking to the headmaster's office, he found that the night was peaceful and the moon was shining down on him. The moon seemed like a familiar friend that had never abandoned him or turned on him, and he found that, besides Yuki, it was the only thing he truly trusted. Going into the headmaster's office he confronted the oddly bipolar man in regards to Zero Kiryu's rapidly decreasing control in regards to his thirst for blood. The boy was a vampire who liked pretending that he was not. It was not suitable. The desk cracked underneath his strength, but the headmaster did not seem to be phased. The man preached pacifism, but when the time came to act upon it he was still.

The scent of blood wafted up to his nose and he rushed out of the room. Just as he had feared, the boy had lost control. Unfortunately, from the scent of the blood, the victim had been his beloved Yuki. Rushing to the scene of the crime he found said girl weakened from the copious blood loss. It was unfit for Zero to be working with her when he was clearly a danger to her safety. He took her to her room and made sure to check that she would be cleaned up and taken care of. The boy had punctured her deeply, but she did not seem deeply affected by it. If anything she seemed _sympathetic_ to the vampire. In the deepest recesses of his heart he had hoped that she would be disgusted by him and would turn to himself for comfort.

He left the girl and began his journey back to the dorm. His mind was swirled in thoughts of blood and hatred towards Zero for touching what was his. A distant sound came to his ears and he turned towards the grounds of Cross Academy. Day Class students had a strict curfew and he was sure that Aido would have trouble controlling himself if he found whoever it was. Kaname began wandering to the location of the sound and was surprised at what he found.

There was a small girl sitting beside a brook. Her body was slumped down in defeat and her pale pink hair hung limply over her body. She was shaking, and he could barely hear the sound of tears falling down her cheeks. The color of her uniform did signify that she was a Day Class student. Trying not to scare her, he leaned down and touched her shoulder. She jumped and almost fell into the water before gaining her balance. "Kuran-sempai, I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't be out here but the moon is so lovely tonight and I…I'm babbling. Forgive me."

The girl's voice was soft, but strong and held a slight musical tone to it. He guessed that she was probably a talented singer. "You should return to your dormitory."

"Yes. I will," she said, the slight hint of a sniffle indicating that she had in fact been crying. She stood up and without a glance back at him walked away. It was only then that he realized he had not gotten her name. Kaname decided that it did not concern him. She was most likely suffering from 'boy drama.' It was unlikely that he would see her again.

The next night came much too soon. He almost did not want to get up and attend classes. It made little sense for someone such as himself to relearn such things as trigonometry, but it was necessary. He idly half-listened to the professor and to Aido's occasional snide remark. He did not know why he put up with the little idiot. Either it was all an act or he really was that stupid.

Eventually they were dismissed and his classmates left the building. He followed behind them. He wanted to check up on Yuki, but he had a feeling that she did not want to see him. Instead he continued behind the group on their way back to the Moon Dormitory. Ruka stopped and offered him her hand, but he refused. In the distance he could hear a heartbeat. In the distance he could smell blood.

"Go back to the dormitory," he ordered. It was the order of a Pureblood. They could not refuse even if they wanted to. He had the higher authority here. They gave him questionable looks, but did as he said. Walking back into the forest he came to the same brook and the same girl. She did not turn to meet him, but merely stood and began walking back to her dormitory—the smell of blood wafting from her wrists.

He had an odd feeling that came here every night and it proved to be true. Every night for a month he ordered the others back to the dorm and confronted the girl. She never spoke, and sometimes he thought that she ceased to have the ability, but he could not find the right words to say. For some reason this one girl began to override his thoughts. He found himself increasingly forgetting to worry about Yuki and her growing relationship with Zero, and thought more about the mysterious bleeding girl. On some nights it took most of his self-control to keep himself from licking the blood off of her arm. Several times it crossed his mind to tell the headmaster about her. Surely a girl with pink hair could be identified easily?

But he did not tell. In some ways it felt as though that would be a violation to her. In the back of his mind it felt as though she had been violated enough though he did not know the reason why.

Although Cross Academy was a private school, they did have designated holidays. The spring holiday was only a few days, and the majority of the humans left while the vampires stayed—Yuki and Zero being the exception. He had grown unhappy at the growing affection for Zero that Yuki displayed and, more than once, he had caught them holding hands. He knew that Yuki was giving Zero her blood. It disgusted him, but there was nothing he could do.

During the break, he was relieved from having to see the mysterious bleeding girl. She had obviously left to spend time with her family. A small part missed their nightly meetings while another part was glad. If she was with her family then she was most likely happy. The reason she cried every night was probably due to homesickness. She looked young enough to be a first year student.

Once all of the Day Students returned so did Kaname's bleeding girl. He was unsure when he had begun using the possessive, but it seemed apt. After all, he did look after her. He expected her to have stopped crying once she returned from break, but it was not so. If anything she seemed more disturbed. Her uniform was messy and her hair lacked luster. He was unsure of when she had bathed herself last. She kept shaking her head, occasionally it would bob down only to be swiftly brought back up. He assumed that she was sleep-deprived and he wondered why. Was this more than mere homesickness?

Her body began to fall forward into the water and before it could Kaname grabbed her. Her eyes were closed tightly and her body was shaking slightly. However it was apparent that she was deep asleep. He carried her body to the dorm and, following where her scent was strongest, laid her down in a large twin-size bed. She seemed to be sleeping soundly, but every so often her body would twitch and her nails would scratch the air. Her breath was disturbed and Kaname ran a hand across her forehead, hoping that his cool skin could calm the fever coursing through her body. He left without a word, but hoped that she would be well the next day.

He thought about talking to the headmaster now that it was clear something was wrong. They had interacted for a month now without speaking, but from what he had read in her physical posture it was clear that she was scared and defeated. At the same time, something inside of himself urged him to protect the girl without interference from anyone else. After all, he had been protecting her for this long without help. Her mind had deteriorated before his very eyes and it was clear something needed to be done, but what?

The next evening he had formed an idea in his mind. He would speak to the girl, get her to confide in him, and then solve her problems. Then she would no longer cry at night and he could return to his Yuki-centered life. That was what he wanted, right?

Kaname left the class and waited until everyone was gone to head towards the brook. He heard the distant noise that he could not place. A whir then a click, another whir and click, and yet another whir and click. He reached the brook and stared in shock at what he saw. The pink-haired girl held a gun to her head and it whirred then clicked. She huffed in frustration. Kaname knew what she was trying to do. His bloody girl was trying to kill herself. He quickly ran at her after the last whir and the gun shot off into the air, the bullet narrowly missing her skull. She met his eyes, clearly surprised, and put the gun down.

"Why?" she whispered.

"What were you doing? You could have killed yourself."

"That was kind of the point."

He was shocked by her straight-forward answer. "What do you mean? You are trying to kill yourself. Why?"

"Why should I tell you? You watch me for a month like a creepy stalker without saying anything or stopping me. Why do you even care, Kaname Kuran?"

He was not sure of what to say. "I do care."

"Sure you do. Some creep guy who just watches me cry at night cares. Look, I'm going," she said, standing up and brushing past him. He tried to grab her wrist to stop her, but she was gone. And, yet again, he did not know her name. He noticed that she had left the gun behind. Picking it up, he put it in his pocket and walked back to the Moon Dorm.

The next night she was there again, despite his thoughts that she would not be there. Her eyes were slightly wet, indicating that she had only recently stopped crying. Her brilliant green eyes met his with a fierce glare and she huffed. "I figured you'd be here. I never took you to be a creeper."

"I am not."

"Could have fooled me."

"What is your name?"

"Yet again, why should I tell you?" she said, clearly on her guard.

"I have told no one of your suicide attempt last night or of your curfew breaking for the last month."

"That…is very kind of you."

"I suppose that it is. Will you do something for me?"

"Depends on what it is," she said.

"Show me your wrists."

"What? No!"

He walked toward her and calmly lifted up the sleeves. There were violent red slashes across both of her wrists, though none of them seemed recent. He tenderly traced them and she shuddered under his touch. She tried to pull away, but he held her in place.

"Tell me your name."

"You can't order me around. I'm a human being."

"If this is what it means to be human then I am glad that I am not."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell me your name, please."

She shivered under his gaze and whispered, "Sakura."

The name suited her and he reached a hand forward to push back some stray strands of hair. The act was intimate, but surprisingly comfortable. She did not shrink from his touch this time and instead leaned towards him. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she shrank away again. "I can't."

"Cannot what?"

"He'll know. He always knows."

"Who is he?" Kaname asked.

"I can't tell you. No," she said, shaking her head. The tears began again and her body was wracked with sobs that he could not tell the source of. It was obvious that she was not homesick and that she was more disturbed than he had thought. She tried to get away from him, but he wrapped his hands around her waist. She felt skinny beneath his hands, almost terribly so, and he wanted to know what was hurting her so much beneath the surface.

"Sakura, you can trust me. I will not hurt you."

"No he used to say that. Then he hurt me over and over," she said, shaking now and rocking back and forth. "I can't trust anybody, can't get closed to anyone, can't touch, can't see, can't feel…"

She began repeating it like a mantra and he found himself worrying over her sanity. She'd begun to scratch at her arms, the skin beginning to pucker and give way to something deeper. Kaname stopped her before she could reach a vein and bleed. He did not know if he could control himself if she had fresh blood in the air. She stared up at him, eyes wide and wet, and tried to move his hand away.

"Who did this to you?" he whispered.

She muttered something that he could not make out and he asked her to repeat it.

"My uncle," she said, shrinking back inside of herself. Something inside of him broke at the sight of her fear and terror just by saying his name.

"He hit you?"

"And other stuff," she said, stuttering over the words.

"What did he do to you?" Kaname seethed, almost bruising her in his grip. He released her upon realizing that holding her while in a rage would not end well, and stayed near her.

"He….he….raped me," she sobbed, breaking down and falling into his arms. He tried to maintain some composure but could not stop his fangs from brushing against his lips in his fury. It was wrong for that man to have taken advantage of her. It was obvious that some serious psychological damage had already been dealt and that the girl was having trouble dealing with the hurt. For God's sake she had tried to kill herself just yesterday to escape from the hurt.

He found himself whispering in French to her and her sobs gradually fell quiet and she rested in his arms. She lay in his grasp and her breathing slowed down before resting. Sakura had fallen asleep and he found himself surprised. It was rare that a human could let down their guard while in the presence of a vampire. He wanted to do something to help her, but the only thing that he could think of was killing her uncle. It was not the best idea- he knew this- but something about it stuck in his mind. He wanted to kill the man that had hurt his bleeding girl, his bleeding cherry blossom.

They spent the whole night together, Sakura asleep in his arms. Despite knowing that when morning was close he would take her back to her room and leave her for the day, he enjoyed the few hours they had. When the sun was close to rising he picked her up, carried her to the Sun Dorm, and left her in the bed. She seemed much calmer than the last time he had left her here. He kissed her forehead and vanished.

By the next night he had come up with a plan to take care of what he had dubbed 'the most serious problem to ever fall into his life other than Yuki and Zero's impending romance.' He went to the brook and met Sakura. She shivered under his eyes and shook her head once. "I made it all up. I'm an attention whore and I just wanted to get your attention." Her voice was blank, devoid of emotion, and it was easy to tell that she was lying.

"I am going to kill your uncle. Are you okay with that?"

"You're…what?"

"I require your permission to do so. It will be a secret between us, do you understand?"

"You would do that for me?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Kaname-sempai, you are…I will be in your debt forever. I will give you anything that you want."

Kaname thought on her offer. Anything that he wanted? He wanted a lot from Sakura. He thought of the possibilities: her blood, body, mind, _everything_ could be his. She did not even know that he would have killed her uncle without payment of any kind. He just wanted to end her sorrow.

"I will kill your uncle for you, and you shall owe me a favor."

"Yes. Anything," she whispered, coming close to him and pressing her lips against his. In that moment he forgot Yuki and Zero, the fact he was a vampire and she was a human, and that she was a broken girl. All he could think of was how she tasted of cherry and a part of him thought that he wanted to make her a vampire. When they broke apart she smiled, the first time he had seen her do so, and he wanted that smile to stay forever. He kissed her forehead and began to walk away.

"Wait! You don't know where he is."

"I took the liberty of breaking into your file and finding out where your uncle lives. He will never hurt you again. I promise Sakura-chan."

"Thank you," she said, touching his shoulder and then resting her head against his shoulder. "Come back safe."

"I will," Kaname Kuran said, turning away and walking to his car. He drove out of Cross Academy and out onto the road, to kill the man who had hurt the woman he loved.

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**Rayne Says: Someone asked for a reminder of what you can suggest- here it is. Bleach, Vampire Knight, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket, Harry Potter, Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Wicked Lovely, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse), Avatar: the Last Airbender, Fairy Tail, Black Butler, American Horror Story, Soul Eater, Supernatural, Skip Beat!**

**Sorry I don't do Inu Yasha- for some reason I never got into the show and I'm busy watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Fairy Tail, and Soul Eater to do so. I'm trying to branch out into new animes to add to Sakura Ai and I hope you're enjoying it so far! Keep making suggestions, because I DO listen. 3**


	21. Daughter of Tethys

**Rayne Says: So, yet again, I dropped off the face of the planet. However, I am updating again, and I have ideas for the next few chapters. This chapter is a bit AU from Percy Jackson & The Olympians. In this, it is obvious that Luke did not die. It's not explained, but it just happened. He lived, and got a job. Read and review!**

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**Daughter of Tethys**

_SakuraXLuke Castellan_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

Sakura Haruno sat quietly on the edge of the pool, her feet dangling into the water. She took a deep breath and slowly submerged herself into the water. It surrounded her and held her down. Unfortunately, the demand for oxygen was greater than her wish to stay underwater and she shot to the surface. A deep pant of air and she began to float on her back. The water played around her ears and she could half hear the echo around the indoor pool and half hear the pounding under the water. She began to backstroke through the water until her hands touched the far edge of the pool. She began to swim laps around the pool and her muscles started to ache from the repeated movement. She didn't care.

A bell rang in the distance and she groaned. She was going to be late again. Sakura pulled herself out of the pool and grabbed one of the towels from the bench. She toweled off and grabbed her bag. Walking into the locker room, she opened up the locker she'd taken for the morning and pulled out a pair of sweats and a tank top. She pulled off her swimsuit and slipped on the clothes. Pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail, she glanced in a mirror and dubbed herself suitable for class. Another bell rang and she cursed to herself. Oh, she was definitely going to be late. She shouldered her backpack and quickly left the locker room.

Students mulled about in the hallways, their bodies writhing and fighting against each other's as they struggled to get to their individual classes. Sakura's body was slammed against a row of lockers and she avoided an elbow that came flying in her direction. The final bell rang and most of the crowd dissipated. Sakura was left alone in the narrow hallway with only her thoughts to accompany her. The main thought was that Mr. Castellan was going to kill her.

She opened the door while he was apparently mid-sentence and his blue eyes flicking briefly to hers before continuing. That was never a good sign. She quietly took her seat in the second row and waited for her name to be called. Surprisingly he skipped right over it. She was sure that he had said "Harumi" and then skipped to "Jackson." She fell right in between those two. That was definitely a bad sign. From the corner of her eye she saw Percy Jackson offer her a sympathetic look and her face flushed. It really couldn't get any worse than this.

Of course, it did.

Mr. Castellan ignored her for the entire class. She raised her hand to answer the question "What is Hermes the patron of?" and his eyes had glanced over her waving arm to the poor boy sleeping two seats behind her. She'd given up after that. In fact, she probably could have gone to sleep and he still wouldn't have called on her. Finally, the bell rang and he dismissed them with a curt, "Don't procrastinate." Sakura grabbed her bag and began to shove her things back inside when a small cough from behind her drew her attention back up. Her wide green eyes met cold blue ones and a blush broke across her face. A lot of girls had crushes on Mr. Castellan. It made sense because he was only a few years older than them. Sakura had been proud to count herself among the non-believers, but those blue eyes could convince her otherwise if he kept looking at her.

"Miss Haruno, stay after class."

"But I have-"

"I'll write you a pass. We need to speak."

"O-okay," she said, sitting back down in her chair. He idly rested against the desk in front of her, his eyes resting upon her. She felt a shiver run down her spine and her fingers tapped against the desk.

"Miss Haruno, your lack of punctuality has begun to annoy me."

"It's not my fault everyone in this school is a wild animal in between classes."

"Then get to class early. I will not allow you to further disrupt our lessons on Greek mythology. You signed up for this course and I expect you to attend it."

"I'm sorry that I was late, but there's not much I can do about it."

"I will give you two more opportunities to arrive on time. If that does not happen then I will be forced to give you detention after school. Do you understand?"

"I understand," she said. "Can I go now?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. It looked so smooth and touchable that she had to hold back the urge to do so herself. Instead, she picked up her bag and stood. Nodding to Mr. Castellan she left the classroom and walked to her next class.

The next morning, Sakura was back at the pool. She dove into the water and it caressed her skin so lovingly. She swam fifty laps before climbing out of the pool and drying off. Changing back into sweats and a red shirt, the bell rang and she cursed. She'd tried to make it quick today, but she didn't feel like she got the same workout with less than fifty laps. Hurrying to history class, she made it just after the final bell rang. Mr. Castellan's eyes flitted over to her before he sighed and checked the attendance. She sat down in her chair and realized that in her haste she'd forgotten to put up her hair. It hung in wet ringlets down her back and shoulders, leaving wet spots on the tee. She searched through her bag for a hair tie, but couldn't find any. Growling softly to herself, she tried to focus on the myths that Mr. Castellan was discussing. The class passed by in a hazy blur that left Sakura bored out of her mind because he wasn't calling on her again.

He didn't ask her to stay back after class, and she left without turning back; the rest of the day passed by in a nonsensical mess of school. Sakura knew that she was smart, and the rest of her teachers didn't seem to mind when she didn't pay attention in class. Mr. Castellan was the only teacher who seemed to want to be sure that she didn't just laze about. Usually he challenged her with difficult questions and existentialist ideas about mythology. It was very boring just sitting in his class and not being challenged. She wondered why her being late would matter so much to him. Then she decided that she didn't care.

The morning of her last chance, Sakura almost didn't go to the pool. Instead she began walking up the steps and, at the last second, turned back to her watery haven. She changed into her swimsuit and almost ran to the water. Taking a clean dive into the liquid she remained under as long as she could. She smiled as bubbles flew out of her mouth and kicked her legs to force her body back up. She burst through the surface and pushed the hair out of her face. Taking another deep breath she went back down and touched the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately, she had to go back up and when she did the smile on her face disappeared.

Standing on the edge of the pool, Mr. Castellan gazed down at her, his gaze unreadable. It was pretty much useless to try to escape. He was standing next to the entrance to the locker rooms. Running a hand through his blonde hair, revealing a scar along his face, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "Miss Haruno, what are you doing here?"

"Swimming?" Of course, that was an idiotic answer, but it was all she could think of.

"Obviously. Are you aware that the pool is closed prior to school beginning?"

"Um, yeah. I guess so," she said, shrugging.

"Out of the pool, Miss Haruno. We need to speak."

"We are speaking," she said, a blush creeping across her face. If she stepped out of the water then her teacher would see her in her _swimsuit_. The idea of her (undeniably) handsome teacher seeing her in skimpy clothing was horrifying in and of itself.

"Get out of the pool."

"No."

"Get out of the pool. Now."

"Scared of the water, sir?"

"I am not scared of the water."

"Then why don't you come in and get me?" she shouted.

Much to her surprise, Mr. Castellan dove right into the water next to her. She shrieked as big arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her toward the edge of the pool. It was surprisingly easy for him to pull her, and (secretly) she was enjoying the feel of his arms around her. A bit of water splashed her in the eyes, dragging her from the reverie. After what seemed like forever, Mr. Castellan pulled her out of the pool and dumped her unceremoniously on the ground. She shivered from the sudden chill of air. He stood up and shook out his hair. Then he grabbed a towel and dried off. Sakura waited for him to continuing talking, but instead found a towel soaring toward her face. She managed to catch it and used it to dry off as best she could.

"Now," he said, "tell me why you're swimming in a prohibited zone?"

"Because I want to?"

"That's no reason to go against the rules."

"Nobody's said anything to me before now."

"Then I'll be the first. You are not allowed to use the pools before they are open, do you understand?"

"Mr. Cast-"

"I said, do you understand, Miss Haruno?"

"Yeah."

"Go get dressed, and be on time for class. Be prepared for discussion," he said, walking out of the pool and leaving her behind. She shivered and groaned to herself before standing up and going into the locker rooms. Sakura had enough time to take a quick shower and actually put on a pair of jeans. She shuffled to class with Mr. Castellan, managing to get there before the first bell had even rung. She sat down without speaking or even looking at him, and began taking notes that were on the board.

Class was a boring drivel of myths. Mainly they talked about Apollo and his attempts at wooing nymphs. She took notes without thinking and answered the same way. Mr. Castellan looked at her a few times, but she ignored him the best she could do. It wasn't easier considering every time she looked at him all she could think of was the feeling of his muscular arms around her. When she thought about it it didn't make much sense. How did a history teacher get such defined muscles? He must work out a lot. That was the only explanation.

The next morning she slept in for the first time in years. Usually she snuck into the school and swam for at least an hour and a half. Now that she was forbidden from going to the pool in the morning she was able to take a shower in her own house and eat a real breakfast. Still, something felt wrong about it. At first it just felt like an off day, but then she'd slowly gotten in a worse mood. By the end of it she'd almost punched a woman on the bus next to her. The next day was even more terrible. She snapped at her English teacher and had gotten a detention. On the third day of her pool-isolation she started a fight with Ino and had gotten expelled.

She spent most of her 'vacation' in the bathtub, pretending that it was her pool. She even tried asking her father to buy her a pool. It hadn't worked. The water deprivation was getting to her head. By the end of four days she was at wit's end. She couldn't take it anymore.

Five A.M. on the eighth day of her suspension she decided to do something about her pool-lust. She put on her swimsuit underneath a pair of sweats and tank and ran to her school. It was fairly easy to find the broken window in the basement and crawl through. Once she was inside she maneuvered her way through the hallways until she reached the pool. The smell of chlorine wafted up to her nose and she took a deep whiff before tearing off her clothes. They almost melted from her body, and then she took off in a run for the water. A swan dive into the liquid and Sakura felt as though she'd never left.

The water caressed her skin and she'd never felt so happy in her life. She swam down and then back up again and again, each time staying under longer and longer. She barely heard the sound of shoes on the concrete besides the pool. Only when a splash of water in her face when she reached the surface alerted her to the man's presence.

"I thought I told you not to come back here," Mr. Castellan said.

"You have no idea what I've been through!" Sakura yelled.

"I know that you got into a fight with another girl, talked back to your teacher, and got expelled," he drawled. "Why?"

"It's all your fault."

"Now why is that?"

"You banned me from the water."

"That has nothing to do with your behavior."

"It has everything to do. I love this pool, and you kept me away from it."

He sighed, "Miss Haruno you're acting childish."

"If I'm a child then I can do this," she said, grabbing onto his ankle and pulling him into the pool with her. The water splashed as his body hit the water and he sank down. For a moment, she was afraid that he was drowning, but then he burst to the surface and glared at her. The expression could have curdled milk but with his damp hair around his gorgeous eyes all he managed to do was look even more handsome.

"You…you pulled me into the water," he gasped, appearing surprised that she'd caught him off guard.

"Yes I did."

"Why?"

"You looked like you needed refreshing," she giggled, swimming circles around him. It was odd how natural the water felt around her—like it was a part of her, and she a part of it.

"Are you high?" he asked.

"No. Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. You're pupils are dilated."

"Must be the water," she laughed.

He paused, and looked at her as if through new eyes. She found herself enjoying the look he was giving her, and losing most of her inhibitions she reached forward and touched his arm. The warmth surprised her, but she leaned into it. He tried to shake her off, but she easily held him.

"Who are your parents?" he asked.

"My parents? Let's not talk about them."

"Are you a demi?"

"A demi what? A demi-god?" she repeated, laughing hysterically. "No way! My dad's a gardener."

"And your mother?" he asked, the look in his eyes serious.

"I don't know her. She left after I was born," Sakura explained, her mood deflating.

He looked like he was thinking. "You got temperamental after I banned you from the pool?"

"Duh," she said, "I got expelled for laughs."

"You feel happy in the water?"

"Mhmm."

"Your father is human?"

"As human as human could be."

"Then that means your mother is not human," he whispered, almost to himself.

"You're funny," she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him. The fabric of his shirt felt great against her skin and she snuggled into his neck.

"Miss Haruno, this is inappropriate."

"If I'm not human then what are you?"

He paused. "I'm a son of Hermes."

"Are you now? Good for you."

"I'm not joking."

"If you're the son of Hermes then I'm a nymph," Sakura laughed.

"You are," he said, his eyes wide as if he'd realized something.

"I'm a what?"

"You must be half Oceanid," Mr. Castellan said. "That explains why you feel so connected to the pool. You must have claimed it."

"And you thought I was high."

"What do I do now? Call the Council? Call Percy and Annabeth—they'd know what to do? Shit."

"What's the big deal? I can't be half nymph. You must be joking."

"I'm not," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do. We have regulations for demi-gods, but demi-nymphs are a whole other category."

"How about we worry about that later?" she smiled.

"Miss Haruno, I think your drought- so to say- is affecting your emotions."

"I feel fine," she purred. "I feel great."

She kissed his neck and his body stiffened underneath hers. She pushed him against the wall of the pool and moved her way up to his lips. He tried to protest, but she firmly pressed her lips against his. He tasted delicious and the hint of aftershave she could smell only made her want him more. At first he didn't kiss her back, but once her fingers threaded in his hair he seemed to lose the control he'd been holding and gave in to her. His lips moved against hers and his tongue entered her mouth. He took over the kissing and flipped them around so that she was against the pool wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. His body strength was the only thing holding her against the wall. His lips moved down to her neck and he bit down, making her moan.

"Mr. Castellan," she groaned, tugging on his hair.

"Call me Luke."

"Luke, oh, if we're going to stay in the water I think we should go to the shallow end."

They were there almost as soon as she'd said it. He easily pushed her against that wall and continued kissing her. She began to pull off his shirt, feeling the muscles beneath the fabric. Sakura laced her fingers in his blonde hair as he did the same to her pink locks. He removed the swimsuit top and gazed down at her breasts. Her breath hitched and she decided that they'd spent too much time in silence. She brought his lips back to hers as she removed her own bottoms. Then she removed his and groaned as she felt him in her hand.

A bell rang in the distance, but they chose to ignore it. After all, Sakura was still expelled and a teacher couldn't be late to the class he taught. Instead they stayed in the water she loved and he was learning to love, and found themselves once again. He had been a former enemy of the world, and she a lost girl. Together they made a new destiny for each other.

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**Rayne Says: Ending is not the best I've ever written, but I did try my hand at a suggested lemon. Tethys is attributed as being the mother of the Oceanids so, in actuality, Sakura would be a granddaughter of Tethys. She is the daughter of one of the 3000 daughers. Feel free to suggest couples for the next few chapters- I am keeping track :) Review please?**


	22. Imaginary

**Rayne Says: I believe that this may be the longest chapter so far. This chapter is from TWILIGHT. It took some work, and I'm not 100% happy with it, but I hope you enjoy it! I recommend listening to Evanesence's "Imaginary." Read and review, please. **

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**Imaginary**

_SakuraXAro_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

The beginning had been a usual trip for Sakura. She'd felt queasy on the plane and had taken a sleeping pill to knock herself out for a few hours. Ino had awoken her when they landed by yelling, "We're in Italy, bitches!" Temari had thrown a fist up in the air for victory as they departed from their plane into the airport. Immediately, Sakura bought a map, a bottle of water, and a granola bar. These were always the first things she bought on any trip, but it was a habit of hers. The girls had found a small café and eaten a snack before going for some tourist traps. Hours later they'd checked into a hotel and taken showers followed by knocking out on beds.

The next morning they'd gone to Vatican City and looked at the Cysteine Chapel painted by Michelangelo. Sakura had spouted off random facts as they went (knowing almost as much as their tour guide). Ino had groaned and Temari had put up with it. The fact was they wanted to go shopping and flirt with cute Italian boys. Sakura wanted to absorb as much culture as possible. In the late afternoon of their second day in Italy, Temari and Ino had gone off shopping and Sakura had gone off to a different café to drink a coffee and read her new book.

She'd sat there for nearly four hours by her estimate when someone had sat down in the seat across from her. Sakura had looked up, startled, and watched in fascinated confusion when a stranger had grasped the handle of her coffee cup and taken a sip. He was a cute Italian boy, the kind the others were looking for, and his eyes were completely centered on Sakura. "Ciao bella."

"My Italian isn't great. And that was my coffee," she replied, hoping that he spoke English.

"I know. You have good taste in coffee. Are you here alone, bella?"

"No," she said quickly. "My friends are expecting me shortly."

"Too bad. I was going to tell you about a beautiful city."

Despite wanting to run away from the odd boy, her curiosity stopped her. "A city?"

"Volterra. They're having a festival tomorrow and it's one of the great festivals in Italy. You should come."

"Do you tell all girls that?"

"Only the pretty ones," he smirked. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"How do you know I'll go?"

"I'm a good judge of character," he said, standing up and leaving. Sakura sighed, ran a hand through her pink locks, and picked up her coffee. That bastard had drunk the rest of it. She sighed and ordered another. Reopening her book, she turned to the index looking for information on Volterra, but there wasn't much other than a picture of a castle and a picture from the festival. Still the idea had been laid in her head. It was a _cultural _even after all. Sakura lived for culture.

Returning to the hotel, she found Temari and Ino both gossiping over boys. The moment they'd seen her they stood up and happily began to parade around and show off their new outfits and clothing. Sakura had shown the appropriate amount of enthusiasm for the slinky skirts and tops that they'd bought. Ino proudly held up a deep red shirt that she'd gotten for Sakura. It wasn't something she would normally wear or even look twice, but the saying was 'when in Rome do as the Romans do' not 'when in Rome dress as a hermit.'

"Did you do anything fun today?" Ino purred, laying down on one of the beds and flipping through an actual Italian Vogue.

"Well…I talked to a guy."

"Was he cute?" Temari asked, popping a bubble in her gum.

"I guess so."

"You guess so? Was he or not?"

"Yes?"

"Now dish. What did you talk about?"

"Well he told me about this festival that's happening tomorrow in some city called Volterra."

"A festival? That's like a party, right?" Ino asked.

"Yeah. Supposedly it's one of the biggest."

"Why do you want to go? You hate parties," Temari said.

"It's a cultural destination. A festival is a cultural moment based on past events."

"Sakura you are such a nerd."

"I am not!"

"You are," Temari said, popping another bubble. "We came to Italy because of the boys and the romance. You came to learn. Who does that?"

"I do."

Ino sighed and tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder. "Well, if it's a party and there are cute boys then I'm in."

"So am I."

A smile broke across Sakura's face. "Thank you!"

"But you have to wear this shirt," Ino said, waving the crimson article around the air.

"Isn't it too revealing?"

"If you've got it flaunt it."

"I don't 'got it.'"

"Shut up," Temari laughed. "Anyone else hungry? Or is it just me?"

"Starving," the other girls answered.

"Let's eat!"

They left the hotel for a restaurant down the street. Ino ordered lasagna, Temari had pasta alfredo, and Sakura had spaghetti. She was nothing but predictable after all. They laughed and talked about their plans after college. Ino was going to try her hand at modeling. Temari was going into politics. Sakura was already preparing herself for medical school. She'd bought some of her textbooks early so she could get into the material and be prepared for the course load that came with achieving a doctorate. It had been her dream since she was little. She hadn't always been oriented toward being a doctor. When she was smaller she'd almost been held back because she spent most of her days daydreaming. Realizing a goal had pretty much gotten rid of that, and now she only fantasized when she had the time.

The next morning, bright and early, the girls got on a bus and traveled the two-hundred kilometers to Volterra. Ino and Temari had gushed over the Vogue while Sakura had continued to read her book. The countryside passed by with little interruptions and it wasn't long before they approached the gates of Volterra. The bus crawled into the city and came to a stop shortly after due to the crowd congestion, and they descended from the metal transport and onto the earth. Ino was already lamenting the fact she'd worn heels and Temari was trying to console her with images of a dark-haired Italian boy who was a sucker for long legs. Sakura pulled her jacket tighter. The shirt Ino had given her was definitely too low-cut for her taste and she felt as though her boobs were screaming 'look at me, look at me.'

"Wow, good thing we decided to wear red today. We fit right in," Ino said, smiling.

"Look at that good-looking guy right there," Temari replied, pointing at some figures in the crowd.

"Oh I see him," Ino giggled, teetering in her heels.

"Guys, can we just enjoy the festival for a bit?"

"We are enjoying the festival. Especially the view."

Sakura sighed and pulled the hair up from the back of her neck. It was warm and she was hot. The skirt she was wearing provided some relief from the heat but not much. Ino and Temari had already gone off to the group of boys, leaving Sakura on her own. She managed to push her way through the crowds to find some in the shade. She watched the crowd and observed the people. Men, women, and children happily gathered and spoke in a variety of tongues—though most of it was Italian. She heard the name Marcus thrown around and understood that it was a festival centered on this man that they were celebrating.

Ino and Temari eventually found her again and gushed over the cute boys and the fact that they were going to dinner with them later. They even promised a third boy for Sakura. She didn't mind because they did this often. She appreciated the effort to include her, even if half of the boys they set her up with didn't understand her love of medicine and culture.

"So what do we do now?" Ino asked.

"I heard that there was a tour being offered."

"Another tour?" Temari groaned.

"Please?"

"Fine," they relented.

Sakura managed some garbled Italian to a woman who didn't seem to know that there was a tour available. She sighed again and grabbed the wrists of her two friends, and set off to find someone who knew about the tour. It was only about ten minutes later that she found someone. That someone was a stunning woman with long mahogany hair and a weird shade of violet eyes. Of course, who was Sakura to talk about weird physical features? She did have pink hair after all. The woman had smiled at the girls and told them about the cover fee for the tour. Sakura willingly covered the thirty dollar fee for the three girls and waited for the rest of the group to show up. While they waited the woman who identified herself as Heidi asked a couple of questions.

"Where are you girls from?" she asked in flawless English. There wasn't even a hint of any kind of accent.

"America," Temari replied. "What exactly are we going to see on this tour? Our friend Sakura here is obsessed with museums."

"You are?"

"I guess so," Sakura answered, blushing lightly. Compared to Heidi, Sakura felt like she was wearing a robe. The woman was wearing a mini-skirt and dark tights that covered her legs like a second skin. Her blouse was tight, red, and emphasized her chest. Sakura felt oddly insignificant.

About another ten people showed up for the tour. Sakura noted that they were the youngest people there. Apparently most twenty-ish year olds don't go on tours during a festival. Good thing Sakura wasn't most. She hoped that this tour would provide some information that she didn't know.

"Okay, gather up now," Heidi called, waving her hands in the air, a wide smile on her face. "We'll begin the tour. I ask that you stay together because once you're lost it's almost impossible to catch up. Follow me."

She led the group down an alleyway and into the shadows between two buildings. The shade was a nice relief from the hot sun and she saw several other tourists remove their jackets and coats. Sakura decided to keep hers on to keep covering up her chest. Ino shrugged off her shawl, revealing a midriff-baring white shirt. Temari had also removed hers and she smiled in only a purple tank top. Now Sakura felt overdressed, but she still wasn't going to remove the cover. Heidi took them through a set of doors and into an elaborate lobby. A pretty-looking woman sat at an ornate desk. She smiled at them and Sakura felt a warmth blossom in her chest. The Italian people were very friendly.

"Now here we have a piece of art from the late 15th century. If you notice that the hint of realism in the facial features of the woman then you're seeing one of the few pieces that has never been recreated."

"How can that be?" Sakura asked. "Haven't practically all of the world's art pieces been recreated for exhibits?"

"Not this one. A long time ago the masters of this building purchased it and it has never left this building since that day. If we go further down you can see some Greco-Roman statues created in honor of the god Pan…"

The tour went on like that. Statues and paintings that Sakura had never heard of or imagined were everywhere. They were all beautiful. Some were horrific and Ino made gagging noises in front of her, but Sakura felt a deep appreciation for them. Art was part of culture, and it was important to society. The tour went on for hours and they winded down tunnels and paths. Eventually the temperature dropped again and people began putting their jackets back on. Sakura was glad she hadn't taken hers off.

"And now Volterra has a special gift for you," Heidi said, grinning from ear to ear. Her smile was so perfect. "The current masters of the city are in the court, and they have agreed to meet with you briefly and answer any questions you might have. This is an honor they only bestow upon a few."

Then Heidi opened a pair of doors that seemed too heavy for her to do so and stepped into a large antechamber. The group filed into the room and oohed and awed at all of the elegance. Sakura focused on three wooden seats that stood at the center of the room. They were obviously there for a purpose. A couple of people not with the tour group milled around the room, their eyes fixated on the group. Sakura noticed that, like Heidi, they were all extraordinarily beautiful. Finally, three men descended from a dais next to the chairs. Like everyone else they were gorgeous, but somehow Sakura thought that they looked sickly. A man dressed in a black suit stepped forward and opened his arms to them. "Welcome dear ones to Volterra!"

A couple of other people in their group applauded and took out their cameras. "And without further delay I will allow a great feast to occur. Tuck in."

At first, Sakura didn't know what was happening. As soon as the last syllable had fallen off of his lips the beautiful people in the room had leapt at the tourists. Dimly Sakura recognized that someone had latched onto Ino and tore open her neck. A splash of hot blood hit Sakura's face and

_ She and Sasuke were standing in the Forest of Death during the second challenge of the Chunin Exams. The strange Grass Village woman had obviously placed them in some genjutsu but Sakura couldn't move as a kunai embedded itself in her skull. She felt the pain of dying and tried to get out of the terror but it wasn't working. Suddenly, Sasuke's hand slapped across her face and she blinked once. How had he done it? Looking down, she noticed a wound in his shorts and realized that he had stabbed himself to drive the illusion away. Why was she always so weak?_

The man in black was walking toward her. His red eyes met her green and she couldn't help but compare him to

_Sasuke stood up, his Sharingan glaring at Naruto, and challenged him to a fight. They walked out of the hospital room and up to the roof. Sakura couldn't decide if she should go after them or find Kakashi and tell him what was happening. She decided to go with the former and ran up the flights of stairs to the roof. Bursting out she could only run blindly as they flew toward each other—Sasuke with a chidori in his hand and Naruto with a rasengan in his. Tears flew from her eyes as she ran, her only thought being stopping them from killing each other._

The man was in front of her now and his hand fisted in her pink hair just like

_The Sound Village girl named Kin had her hands in Sakura's hair. She teased her about her obvious lack of training in exchange for her looks. Sakura had to do something. She had to protect Sasuke and Naruto. Grabbing a kunai out of its pouch she held it tightly in her hand. "That won't do you any good," Kin laughed. _

_ "It's not for you," Sakura growled, taking the kunai and slicing through her long hair. It fell in thick strands around her and she stood up proudly. Taking a kunai she charged at the boy with the holes in his hands named Zaku. Before he could hit her, she replaced her body with a nearby log. She did it again with the next attack. Finally, he simply used a kunai to throw up at her. "Now where are you?"_

_ Sakura flew down at him, flecks of her blood spattering on the ground and Zaku as she stabbed him with her own kunai. _

"How interesting," the man in black observed as he touched her. "Where are you from little one?"

Sakura waited for another vision or whatever it was she was seeing. Nothing came and she whimpered as his grip tightened around her. She avoided his eyes and made the mistake of looking around the room. Temari and Ino lay a few feet away from her, their eyes open in terror, blood caking their clothing, and Sakura couldn't contain it anymore. She began to scream.

The man in black flinched as she screamed, but didn't do anything as she hit him. He had picked her up easily and began carrying her somewhere. She watched as the bodies of her two friends grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Through it all she couldn't stop screaming. Eventually it was obvious he grew tired of her noise and she felt his hand on her pressure point. She blacked out immediately.

_It was late. Sakura knew that it was late and that she should be in bed, but a feeling she couldn't get rid of had crept into her stomach. It was tangled up in knots and if she had ever suspected herself of being psychic, this was proof. It was the only road out of Konoha. It was the only way he could get out if he was going. She could hear footsteps down the road and stepped out of the trees. He looked only mildly surprised that she was there. The tears came. She begged him not to go or to at least take her with him. All he said was, "Thank you."_

Sakura woke up abruptly. Her head immediately spun and she wondered where she was. Had they switched hotels? Her face felt sticky and she raised a hand to touch it. Her fingers came away with flecks of red on them. Oh God. She remembered now. They were dead. Temari and Ino were dead.

"No," she muttered, denying the event. How could this be possible? They had bitten into their necks like it was made of nothing at all. What kind of people were they? The only thing she could think of was vampires, but that was impossible. Vampires didn't exist.

The door opened and a small girl stepped forward. She looked young, but her eyes said otherwise and a dim part of Sakura's brain recognized her from the room where her friends had died. "Master Aro wishes to speak with you, human. Follow me."

There was no room for argument and Sakura barely noticed her feet moving behind the girl as they went down tunnels. They came back to the same room as before and Sakura couldn't help but shudder. The man in black was there, although now he was wearing a red tie. The other two men that Sakura had seen for only a moment were there too. One of them looked horribly bored and the other watched her with a malicious smile on his face. She felt so small and weak compared to them.

_Sakura watched as Naruto and Sasuke trained. They were so much stronger than her. She wanted to be just as strong as them. Sasuke easily overpowered Naruto with a fire jutsu and Sakura wished that she knew a real jutsu that wasn't taught at the academy._

"Come back to us, _la mia bella_," the man said, the corner of his mouth quirking up easily. "I do not know where your mind goes, but I want it here."

"Please let me go," she whimpered. "I won't tell anybody. I swear."

"We have a rule that anyone who knows of our kind dies. Is that your wish?"

Sakura's breath left her body, and she felt a tear slide down her cheek creating a sliver of white as it streaked down her blood-stained face. Suddenly, the man she guessed was Aro was before her and caught the tear before it fell from her chin. He brought it up to his mouth and his tongue licked it from his finger. She shivered under his hungry gaze.

"Then why haven't you killed me?" Sakura asked.

"My brother is sinfully curious," the white-haired man commented. "You have peaked that hunger of his…among others."

"There's nothing special about me."

"I beg to differ, _la mia bella_. You have hair the color of cherry blossoms for one thing. For another you have an intriguing ability."

"Ability?"

"You see, I possess the talent of being able to read every thought a person has ever had. You also seem to have a gift that I would like to possess."

"There's nothing out of the ordinary about me. I'm nothing special."

"Do you believe that if you repeat it enough times it will be true? I find that, in your case, it is not working," he smirked, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. The gesture was tender, but Sakura felt violated. "I believe that you would be a valuable asset to my family."

"You want to make me like you?"

"You are actually quite intelligent _la mia bella._ A valuable asset indeed. Do you agree?"

"No. I don't want to be a vampire."

He appeared shocked and his grip tightened around her. She struggled against him and he held her tighter.

"Now what will you do, brother?" the other black-haired man asked.

"You say that you do not want to be one of us. Your mind will change after some time. Your only options are to join us or die."

"I would rather die," she spat.

"I will decide when and how you die," he smiled. "For now you shall return to your room. That is all. Jane dearest, please take our young guest back."

"Of course, master," the little girl replied. She grabbed Sakura forcibly by the arm and dragged her back to the room. Shoving her inside, Sakura heard a lock shoot home and knew that she was trapped. Even the windows had bars on them. Pacing around the room, she tried to come up with a plan and tried to think of ideas. Nothing would come to mind. All she could picture when she closed her eyes were Temari and Ino's dull ones. The image wouldn't get out of her head. If only she could imagine a place where nothing like this could happen.

_Naruto was being annoying again. She couldn't believe that Kakashi had actually encouraged them to 'team bond.' Team bonding meant ramen, and lots of it. Even Sasuke looked like he was going to be ill from all of the noodles that had been placed in front of him. Kakashi, that sly dog, had disappeared before Sakura could force him to join them. Naruto, of course, was practically skipping to Ichiraku's. Still, she was hungry after a long day of training and ramen was both cheap and delicious. It couldn't be that bad. _

_ They sat down at the booth and ordered. Shortly after, three steaming bowls were placed in front of the genin. Sakura broke her chopsticks and dove into the noodles. She did have to give it up to Naruto for finding the best ramen place in all of Konoha. Even Sasuke had a small smile on his face. Sakura blushed when she saw it and imagined that one day he might even give her that smile. _

Sakura was jolted from her daydream when a jolt of pain thrashed through her body. She fell onto the ground and screamed as it coursed through her body. When the pain stopped, she panted, and looked up to meet Jane's red eyes. "Why did you do that?" she panted.

"It was impossible to wake you without it," she drawled. "Are you hungry? Aro is aware that you humans need nourishment other than blood to survive."

"No," she said through clenched teeth. Her traitor stomach roared and a snake's smile came across Jane's face.

"I will have something brought to you."

"Could you—could you bring me some ramen?" Sakura asked, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia. It had only been a daydream and she knew that Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi were all figments of her imagination but the sense of camaraderie she'd had with them was missed now that reality was back.

"It will be arranged," Jane said, closing the door again.

Ten minutes later and a steaming bowl of ramen was in front of Sakura. They'd given her a fork and she almost asked Jane for a pair of chopsticks. Then she remembered that she didn't know how to actually use them. The ramen was hot and she blew it off before taking a large bite. Not as good as she imagined Ichiraku's would taste. When it was gone she realized that there was nothing else for her to do. All she could do was imagine that other world where she was safe.

_Sakura sat beside the hospital bed, peeling apples. They were bright red and reminded her of the red in the Uchiha flag. She hoped that Sasuke would eat at least one, but he was ignoring her. His obsidian eyes wouldn't meet hers for even a second. Instead he glared out the window, images flashing in his eyes. She knew that he had fought Itachi and lost, and now he was probably mad at himself, but there wasn't anything she could say. She had her family and he didn't. It didn't matter what she'd say because she didn't understand. He knew it and she knew it. Pretending would only hurt him more. The knife slipped in her hands and sliced a shallow cut. The blood leaked out and touched the apple. The shade of red was almost the same._

Sakura had to force herself out of the fantasy. She was tempted to stay in her mind forever, but she didn't want to feel the pain that Jane had inflicted upon her. These fantasies seemed to come out of nowhere and she couldn't remember ever daydreaming more in one day. She had to be optimistic. She would get out of here and go to medical school and become a doctor.

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20kg. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5kg. Phosphorus, 800g. Salt, 250 g. Nitrogen, 100g. Sulfur, 80g. Fluorine, 7.5g. Iron, 5g. Silicon 3g," she recited.

"And fifteen other trace elements," Aro finished, appearing in the doorway.

Sakura stared up at him in terror. Was he going to kill her now? She backed against the wall and looked for a weapon to use. All she had was the fork in her ramen. It would have to do.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No. I am here to speak with you."

"What do you want?"

"So confrontational, _la mia bella_. I just want to know more about you as a person. If you join our family it is important that I understand you."

"You already know all of my thoughts. There's nothing else."

"There is so much more to you than your thoughts. Like that ability of yours."

"You're probably just seeing my imagination at work."

"I can only see thoughts. If I were to give you an idea of what I mean, I see thoughts as one would read a book. With you I see moving pictures, like a film. It is an ability. Of that I am sure."

"I still don't want to be a vampire."

"If you keep resisting then you may not be given a choice."

"What's the point in having a choice if you are deciding for me!" she yelled. He walked toward her, danger in his step, and she put up her hands in defense. His hand reached for her and she blocked him with her own.

_"How troublesome," Shikamaru said, looking at Sakura as tears streamed down her face. She kept crying as her empty heart begged for Naruto to bring Sasuke back. It was a promise that she knew he could fulfill. If anyone could convince Sasuke to return to Konoha it would be Naruto. He was her only hope._

Sakura's body fell against the desk, a sharp pain entering her side. Aro stood over her, his breath ragged, and glared. "Never do that again or you will suffer worse than now," he growled, grabbing her wrist and picking her up. He dragged a sharp nail down her neck and she felt the blood leak out of the cut. She almost threw up when she felt Aro's tongue lick it up. "Or perhaps I can kill you now."

"No," she breathed.

"Oh? So you agree to become a vampire?"

"I…I need to think about it."

"Very well. I will come back for you, _la mia bella_. Make you decision."

Aro let go of her and Sakura crumbled to the ground, barely able to realize that he was absolutely gone. Tears slid down her face and she realized that all she ever seemed to do was cry. If she wanted to get out of here she'd have to stop crying. Wiping her tears on her arm she stood up and stumbled to the bed. Her mind couldn't think of plans and she feared that she was going crazy. Was it all too much for her to handle?

_Sakura stood in front of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade. This was her last chance. Naruto had one with Jiraiya to get stronger. Sasuke was with Orochimaru to get stronger. Kakashi was gone, obviously not caring enough to train Sakura himself. So Sakura could only go to one person to get stronger. She knew that it would be hard work to convince the woman, and then even harder to get stronger but she wanted to catch up with the boys. She would bring back Sasuke herself, and then Naruto could relax and let go of his obsession. _

_ "Please make me your apprentice!"_

"Where do your dreams come from?" Aro asked, back again. "Are they from an alternate reality or from your memories?"

"I make them up," she dully replied. "It's not a big deal."

"I can only see these illusions through touch. Do you believe that you can project your images at me?"

"No."

"Try."

"I am, and it's obviously not working." Sakura was picturing Aro on a battlefield with a katana slicing through his head. If he had seen the image he probably would have choked her by now.

"So obviously you are limited by touch, as I am."

"I guess so."

"You are still deciding?"

"I am."

"Give it more thought. The benefits outweigh anything else. Immortality, beauty, time to learn," he purred, running his fingers through her hair. She shivered and tried to move away from him on the bed. He simply moved with her and climbed on top of her body. "You can still be a doctor. I have an acquaintance who is one."

"You mean I can control the bloodlust?"

"Of course. Does that change your mind?"

"You killed my friends."

"Only to feed a hunger that needed to be sated. If not them then someone else."

"I would kill innocent people."

"You would."

"I don't want it."

"A little longer and you will change your mind. I promise you that immortality is more than it seems at first glance."

"Don't you have some people to kill?" she spat.

"You refuse to listen. It irks me."

"I can do more than irk," she said, glaring.

"If you would cease this behavior I may provide you with a comfort."

"I hate to think what your version of comfort is."

"If you are not interested then I will go," he said. "I just thought that you would enjoy a book."

Sakura wasn't able to speak for a while. "You'd give me a book?"

"Yes. One of my choosing. Then if you continue to be a good little girl another book may be provided."

"Fine," she seethed, fisting her hands in the blankets. They were too soft. This room was too nice to be a prison, but that was all that it felt like.

"Good," he laughed, kissing the top of her head. "Keep imagining pleasant things, _la mia bella_."

He walked out of the room and she felt disgusted. She never thought that she'd be the type of girl to deal with the Devil for a book of all things. Grabbing a nearby vase she threw it against the wall. It shattered upon impact breaking into fifty shards. All she could think of was

_Sasuke hitting the plate from her hands, the clean apple slices and glass flying through the air before hitting the linoleum. He glared at her, and it was full of malice. His eyes reminded her of_

Aro. How long would he let her be in limbo? She knew that his patience was already fraying. It wouldn't last much longer. Her decision hadn't changed, but she didn't know how long she could hold him off. It was obvious that he would change her even if her answer was no. There was no real choice, and he was only trying to make it seem like it was her decision to become a vampire. Change or die. Was it really adapting if she had been forced to do so? Was it really evolution?

_She was stronger now. Sakura knew that the man in front of her was on a whole new level compared to everyone she'd fought before, but she felt something blossom in her chest that yelled she could do it. Grabbing a kunai out of her holster, she threw it at the man as a distraction before running at him with a chakra laden fist. It slammed into the Earth and she dodged his counterattack. Sakura knew that she was running out of strength and she had to end it quickly. A second later she noticed that the body of a destroyed puppet was standing up and she rushed toward Chiyo. A sword stabbed through her gut and she lost her breath. Was she dying?_

Sakura opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. There was only one way to win this. She understood that now. Aro had given her the power to make a choice without realizing. It was only by her scared thought process that she had assumed she would either live or die by his hand. Now she knew that she could make a choice by her own hand that would take away his power. She could do this. Going down to the floor she picked up a shard of the broken vase and looked at it. This was the tool for her freedom. The only way to go.

Grasping it in her hand, Sakura brought it into her stomach in the same place she'd been stabbed in the illusion. The pain was instant and she had to bite down on her lip to prevent a scream from escaping. Red seeped through her skin and soaked her hand. She dropped the shard to the ground and lay down. Spots were dancing in her vision and she could feel death coming for her. It was her choice, and her victory. Soon she'd get to see Temari and Ino again, and she could apologize for making them go on the tour.

The door opened and Aro rushed in, followed by Jane. He looked down at Sakura's still body and she smiled up at him. She was the winner, and he was the loser. The last four words she heard before darkness overtook her were, "What a pity."

* * *

**Here is where you, the readers, get to make a decision. Does she live or die? If she dies then this situation will never be mentioned again. If she lives then in future chapters for Twilight I may use this chapter as back story. Decide :)**

**The boy Sakura spoke to in the beginning is like Gianna. He's a human who wants to be a vampire so he works for the Volturi. He's not overall important.**

**By the way, I am keeping track of who you vote for. When I write a chapter for that character I make the votes go back to 0. I may or may not write based on votes, but it lets me know what my readers want. I promise that I will have a chapter for Ichigo soon. I have the idea and I just need to write it. **

**You reviews help inspire me. So...you should review. *Hint***


	23. Have a Heart

**Rayne Says: Another update! This one is for Fullmetal Alchemist. Lately I've taken to watching FMA: Brotherhood, so it's loosely based on some of those facts, and also some of my own regarding alchemy. So I forgot that Dr. Marko is also called the "Medical Alchemist" but I'm keeping my overall title for Sakura. This is not related to any of the other FMA chapters for Sakura Ai, although she possesses the same abilities.**

**Also, don't worry about how many couples you suggest. I don't mind at all! And I keep track of them all.**

* * *

**Have a Heart**

_SakuraxAlphonse Elric_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

Sakura Haruno stood in front of the main building in Central, staring up at the green flag waving gently in the wind. To some people it would have been beautiful or inspiring, but she felt nothing other than a sense of duty. Climbing up the steps, she waved to a few people who noticed her, but otherwise kept on a straight path to the doors. Opening them and walking down the hallway, her silver pocket watch shined in the fluorescent lights and she blew a piece of hair out of her face. She tightened her high ponytail and knocked once on the door in front of her.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door to Colonel Roy Mustang's office and was greeted by the sight of him as well as the two Elric brothers. She had never formally met either of them, but had only seen them in passing every now and again. Ignoring them, she dropped her report in front of the Colonel and waited for a dismissal. Instead he picked up the packet and began flipping through the pages. "Everything went well, I assume?"

"Yes."

"No difficulties?"

"None."

"Haruno?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You need to loosen up," he said, smiling.

She found that she couldn't return the smile and instead nodded once. "May I go?"

"I suppose so. We were just discussing research."

"It does not concern me."

"Are you going to the hospital?"

"Yes."

"Continue on then. I'll contact you if we receive a new mission for you."

"Very well," Sakura replied, walking out of the room. Before she left her eyes drifted over to the suit of armor and she quirked a delicate eyebrow. What kind of person wore a suit of armor these days? Sighing, she closed the door and waited a moment.

"Who was that?" a throaty voice asked.

"That," Colonel Mustang said, "is Sakura Haruno, the coldest woman you will ever meet."

Sakura said nothing, and turned around to leave. She walked back out of the building and down the steps. She kept walking until she reached the hospital. Checking in with the head nurse, she put on her coat and straightened her ponytail yet again. The clipboard stared up at her and she scanned down the list, deciding to visit the most serious cases first.

After several hours of healing, the Medical Alchemist was tired. She trudged up the steps to her rarely-used apartment and unlocked it. A small layer of dust covered all of the furniture. It sounded like the refrigerator had stopped working; not that she used it much anyways. She pulled off her military uniform and changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top. She brushed her teeth and let down her long hair. Falling onto her bed, Sakura immediately fell asleep.

The next day, she awoke and walked to the main building. The air was cold and the wind whipped her face. She knocked yet again on Colonel Mustang's door and opened it after being permitted to do so. She found herself hoping that he would have a new assignment for her, something that could interest her mind. It was the only thing that kept her from killing herself, she thought bitterly; the hunger for information and knowledge. Colonel Mustang looked up from his papers and his eyes met hers. She had heard other girls around Central swoon over the man and profess that he was their true love. Sakura wished that she was that naïve.

"Yes, Haruno?"

"Do you have an assignment for me?"

"No," he said, "anyways you just got back. Don't you want to relax a little?"

"I find that I have no need for it."

"Ah, yes, the ever calm Medical Alchemist. Even in the face of Death she doesn't cower."

"Am I supposed to laugh, sir?"

"Well…it was a joke."

"I did not find it funny."

"So I can tell."

An awkward silence fell between them until the door burst open and a uniform-clad man shouted, "Sir, the Elric brothers were attacked by Scar. They're at the hospital in critical condition."

"Looks like you got your next assignment. Heal them, Haruno."

She nodded once and, with a swish of her coat, she was gone. Her pace was brisk and she arrived shortly at the hospital, striding past all of the panicking doctors and going straight to the operating room. The suit of armor was sitting beside the door, and he looked up as soon as she was within his sight.

"Miss Haruno, please—my brother is hurt! Please save him."

She didn't grace the boy with an answer. Shoving open the doors she went into the operating chamber, washing her hands quickly, and barking at the other doctors to stand aside. They moved without question, because they knew that the pink-haired girl's wrath was something to be feared and avoided at all costs. Sakura pushed the hair out of Edward Elric's face and picked up a scalpel. She cut her palm and drew a transmutation circle across his lacerated chest. It was unsteady, but adequate for what she needed to do. Clapping her hands together, Sakura poured some of her energy into the boy's body. The other doctors watched in rapt attention as his flesh knitted together and became almost as new as the day he'd been born. All that remained was dried blood. Once it was done, Sakura washed her hands again, swept a hand across her forehead slick with perspiration, and exited without a word.

The suit of armor was still sitting, his hands clasped together as if in prayer, and he looked up when she exited. "Is- is my brother going to be okay?"

"He will be fine. He must rest."

"Thank you, doctor. You're a miracle worker."

"Hardly."

"I'll get some money from my brother's vault to pay you," the boy said sincerely.

"I don't require compensation," she said, bringing a hand to her mouth for a moment. She spat and a small amount of blood exited. The boy looked at her closely and seemed concerned.

"Are you okay, miss?"

"It's none of your concern, Mr. Elric."

"Please call me Alphonse."

"I must be going, Mr. Elric. Good day," Sakura replied coldly, walking down the hallway and out of the building. That transmutation had taken a good amount of energy and she had to replenish it quickly before she fainted or did something else embarrassing. Taking a short cut through an alley, her vision began to move and she steadied herself against a wall. Her steps became unsure and before she knew it her cheek was pressed against the cold cobblestone.

She heard the clank of metal against the street and felt herself being picked up by someone. Of all the travesties to happen this would have been one of her last ideas. Fainting in an alleyway was one thing, being _rescued_ was another. She loathed being a victim. Eventually, she felt herself being set down on what she assumed was a bed and managed to pull her body up.

"No, please stay down," a light voice begged. "You aren't well."

"I am fine, Mr. Elric. You are overreacting."

"I've seen something like this before, and bed rest is important."

"I am a doctor," she hissed, "I know what's important or not."

"You're also very stubborn."

Had he really just said that? Had he talked down to her? "Excuse me?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but you seem to think of others before yourself. You care too much."

"I do not care. No let me go."

"No."

"Mr. Elric, let me go or I will contact Colonel Mustang and have your brother's research rights revoked."

He coiled back as though she had struck him. "You are cold."

"Not like I have a choice," she muttered, trying to stand. Her legs fell beneath her and the armor arms caught her body. She lacked strength and he gently repositioned her on the bed.

"You should rest. I can bring you some food if you'd like."

"I will have an apple."

"Please?"

"Please what?" she asked, confused.

"Say please," he teased.

"_Please _get me an apple, Mr. Elric."

"Call me Alphonse," he said, standing up and clanking out of the room. She wondered why he wore that suit of armor all of the time. It must be terribly inconvenient in everyday life. She was also wondering why he was here with her when his brother was most likely in a room at the hospital. In fact, he should be waking up within the hour if her knowledge about her treatments were correct.

"I sliced it, if that's okay."

"That's fine," she said, accepting the fruit from him. It tasted sweet in her mouth and she smiled. An apple was so fitting to her life. It was temptation and the cause of all misery in the world. It may have been a religion she was unfamiliar with and didn't care much for, but the concept was something she understood. For a moment, a cough rattled through her chest and the plate slipped through her fingers, shattering on the ground. Blood flecked her hands and she sighed. "I'm sorry for the plate. Allow me to fix it."

She managed to bend down, although the boy moved to stop her, and fixed the plate. The boy stuttered in disbelief and picked up the now-fixed and perfect plate. "How did you do that?"

"Alchemy of course."

"You didn't use a transmutation circle."

"I do not require one for basic alchemy."

He paused, silent for a moment, and stared at her. "You've seen the Truth."

"Excuse me?"

"My brother and I have seen the Truth also…which means you must have committed a taboo."

She remained silent and stared down at her hands. Trying to brush off the blood, she picked at her nails. "I doubt that someone as young as you could know of the Truth."

His answer to her blatant denial of his knowledge was to remove his helmet. There was nothing underneath. There was no body in his armor. She noted the blood seal on the neck and felt a chill run down her spine. Someone had bound his soul to the armor just in time it appeared.

"You can put that back now," she whispered.

"I'm not the boy everyone thinks I am," he said, sounding wiser than she could have imagined for a boy of his age.

"I suppose not."

"My brother and I attempted to bring our mother back after her death, but it didn't work. My brother lost his leg and I lost my body. He sacrificed his arm to bring my soul back, and now here I am. We have suffered through more than most people our age, but that doesn't mean we don't feel for others."

"You were weak," she said, her voice cold as ice. He appeared shocked and possibly hurt, though it was hard to tell when he wore a helmet and had no face. "Don't act surprised. Emotion…is a weakness and it leads you to do stupid things. Love is the worst emotion of all for it blinds all who are its victims. If you had listened to reason and knowledge you would never have attempted to transmute your mother in the first place and you would still have your body."

She was surprised by the slap that turned her head. It hadn't been hard, but there was raw emotion behind it. It was obvious that she had touched a nerve and he was now upset with her.

"Shut up! You have no idea how much we loved our mother. All we wanted was to see her smile again. That's all," he said, quietly sobbing, "just to see her smile."

"You're right. I don't know how much you loved your mother. But don't presume that I don't know what it's like to love and be loved. I wasn't always this cold you know," she said, allowing a pause for that fact to sink in with the boy. "Once upon a time I was a normal girl who fell in love with a boy. He was the most handsome boy in my town and I loved him with all of my heart. One night he was killed by a bandit who needed food and money. I missed him so much. I threw my heart into learning more about alchemy so that I could bring him back. It didn't work."

"You saw Truth."

"I did."

"But…you look fine."

"Not all of those who pass through the gate lose physical limbs. Some of us lose other abilities."

"Like having babies?"

She raised a delicate eyebrow and said, "Yes."

"What did it take from you?"

"My heart," she said, smiling a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Your heart? But then—how are you still alive?" he gasped.

"Mr…Alphonse, the heart is also a metaphor for the ability to love and to feel. The gate took my emotions and compassion. I used to be a girl who cared, and now it's all I can do to get out of bed in the morning. I have no feelings. Even now all I can feel is a shadow of regret that I'm telling you this."

"You can't feel?"

"Not at all."

"I can't believe that."

"It's the truth. I am merely a puppet of the military. They send me to assassinate and kill because they know I feel no remorse and bear no guilt. If I had been an alchemist during Ishval I'm sure more people would have died at my hands."

"Don't say that…you're still human," he begged, misery leaking into his voice.

"Am I? I've thought on the subject for many hours. The main ability of humans is to love as well as hate. To _feel_. As I am incapable of such things it would be best to assume that I am not human."

"No," Alphonse said firmly. "I've met people who weren't human and they still expressed emotion- even though it was twisted."

"I will not change my mind in regards to my humanity, Alphonse. I am a shell just as surely as that suit of armor is yours."

"Then I promise you."

"Promise me what?" she asked.

"I promise that when my brother and I get our bodies back we'll get your back your heart and emotions. And when that happens I want to see your real smile!" he said, his voice brimming with confidence. For a moment Sakura felt something in her dead heart, but then it faded away as all emotions did. Still that small quiver was enough for Sakura to want to put faith in the boy. She lifted up her hand and placed it on the armor shoulder.

"Fine then. Alphonse Elric, I entrust you with the duty of caring for my heart."

* * *

**Rayne Says: So it's not super long, and there was no smut or any of that but the fact that Al has no body kind of hinders that. Also, I've noticed that the past few chapters have all been Sakura's P.O.V. so the next couple will probably be the guy. Next chapter or the chapter after that will be IchigoxSakura because he's got like 9 or 10 votes so far and I do have an idea. And Sakura from the last chapter will live!**

**So please review and tell me what you thought and suggest couples :D**


	24. Mystery

**Rayne Says: This chapter is an update from Harry Potter. I would like to remind ya'll that I only do chapters for anime/shows/books that I am familiar with and/or have time to explore. I do this not because I want to ruin your ideas for chapters, but because it enables me to know what universe I am writing in and portray it in the most realistic way possible. This chapters does raise some questions that I shall answer at the end. Read and review!**

* * *

**Mystery**

_SiriusxSakura_

_.:Sirius' P.O.V.:._

_"Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them." –Albus Dumbledore_

Sirius Black was bored. It was a simple fact, and one that did not need to be repeated but he found that he was doing the very same thing. James and Remus were off doing something (and he suspected that it could have something to do with his upcoming birthday) and Peter was spying on girls in the lavatory again. He had no desire to do either of those things, but doing classwork sounded equally unpleasant. What was a boy to do when his friends were off elsewhere?

Sighing, he ruffled a hand through his shoulder-length hair and stared out one of the Gryffindor common room windows. It was almost time for snow, a fact that he was looking forward to, and he imagined the fun the Marauders could have with Snape. Enchanted snowballs were always a fun thing to do. It helped that Snape's hair was so greasy that the snow immediately froze to his head. Chuckling to himself, Sirius pondered the notion of tracking down Snape and messing around.

"Hey, have you done the Charms assignment yet?" another Gryffindor asked him.

Shaking his head he answered, "Would I be here if I had?"

"Yes?"

"Wrong. What are you thinking about doing?"

"Oh, I'm going to do my report on my Grandmother. She was a Gryffindor too and the first female keeper for the quidditch team," the boy exclaimed.

"Bully for her. Look, I gotta go," Sirius said, standing up and brushing imaginary fluff off of his robes. Saluting the other boy he exited through the Fat Lady's portrait and idly wandered through the hallways. He wondered why there weren't any portraits with nudity. It might make the students more productive in school. A wicked smirk crossed his face and he almost ran into a Slytherin.

"Sorry," the person muttered.

"Snivellus, is that you? Why aren't you in the library with your nose pushed up against a book, eh?"

"Leave me alone."

"What's the 'magic' word?"

"Please?"

"Nope. _Diffindo_!" he said, laughing as Snape's belt snapped and his pants fell around his ankles. He was lucky that no one else was nearby or he would have been laughed at by all who saw his threadbare white underpants. Before Snape could turn around and cast a spell at Sirius, said boy turned down another hallway and left. Torturing Snape always put a little pep in his step.

Arriving at the library, he groaned at the sight of the dozens of tomes regarding Hogwart's attendance records. It wasn't allowed to see the official records and change them, but the copies in the library were used for reference and the curious few who wanted to know about their ancestors. Sirius didn't need to think about his. He knew them all by heart and if he ever forgot there was always a tapestry at Grimmauld place to check. Deciding that he didn't want to put much thought into who he chose, but not wanting to pick a family member, he grabbed a volume three from the end and flipped open to a random page. Then, closing his eyes, he dropped his finger down onto a name.

_Haruno, Sakura._

It also listed that she had been a Ravenclaw and attended Hogwarts from 1938 to…the date of graduation was unlisted. A dark eyebrow rose in interest and he looked at the names above and below her name. Harold, Burt and Haryl, Elliot both had graduation dates listed as well as death dates. Looking back to Sakura Haruno's name he found neither. So this was a mystery. Sirius loved mysteries.

It would be easier to choose another student, one who had lived, graduated, and died obviously, but he didn't want to give up. He just wasn't that kind of guy. Copying down some of the information given he smiled to himself and put the book back. The mystery of Sakura Haruno was going to be solved, and he was going to be the one to do it.

But how to do so? Where to start?

It seemed that it would be easiest to start with her own house. He had been to the Ravenclaw common room a few times, and had escorted plenty of girls back to it. Climbing up to the west tower of Hogwarts he stood before the handless door and raised his hand to the knocker.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" the eagle-shaped knob asked.

"Actually, I'm here to ask you a question," he replied.

"Me? No one asks me for anything other than hints. What do you wish to know, young Gryffindor?"

"You've been on the Ravenclaw door all of this time, correct?"

"That is so."

"Do you remember a girl name Sakura Haruno who began Hogwarts in 1938?"

"I am afraid that I do not recall such a student. I know all, but I do not see all."

"Thanks anyways," Sirius huffed, walking back down. It seemed like the mystery wasn't going to be so easy to crack after all. He was unsure of any other people who could have been around during that time. Of course, there was always Headmaster Dumbledore, but he didn't want to bother the old man with a missing girl. That was what she was after all. It was clear that she had come to Hogwarts, but had she ever left?

There wasn't a way to find out where she was now unless he asked his mother to search around her connections. It was possible that she might have some Pureblood family and she could just have left the school because of something else. There was too much about that theory that didn't make sense. Looking up, Sirius realized that his feet had led him back to the Gryffindor common room. He spoke the password and almost ran into his two best friends.

"Sirius, where have you been?" James Potter asked, clapping his shoulder roughly. "Been looking for you everywhere, mate."

"I was doing homework."

"Oh really?" Remus Lupin replied, an eyebrow rising.

"Yes. I was…and am. What else am I supposed to do when you abandon me?"

"Snog."

"You disgust me," he laughed. "You hungry? I believe it's almost time for dinner."

"Never heard a better idea."

The three boys headed down to the Great Hall and took seats at one of the long benches at Gryffindor table. Sirius tucked into the meal with zest and found it easy to stuff his face with turkey and potatoes and forget all about the Ravenclaw mystery girl. After his stomach had been filled and lazy, sleepy thoughts entered his mind his eyes wandered over to the head table and landed on the headmaster. Dumbledore was speaking with Professor McGonagall and they seemed to be chuckling over something. It could be worth it to talk to the professor.

Leaving the table without saying anything to his two best mates, he stood up and walked out. The girl was consuming his mind, and all he had was her name and her house. It seemed odd that a person could just disappear and no one would notice. Walking back to the library he looked back in the book. There was her name just as he'd left it. Deciding to look up the other girls sorted into Ravenclaw in 1938, Sirius took out some spare bit of parchment and a quill and wrote down four other names.

"Labelle, Eleanor. Anderson, Madeline. Greene, Henrietta. Thompson, Myrtle."

_Myrtle? _That couldn't mean Moaning Myrtle could it? He vaguely recalled that she had died sometime in the 1940s in the girl's lavatory. If she was also a Ravenclaw then that meant she could have known Sakura. It was easy for Sirius to think of what to do next. He had to go have a chat with the ghost girl.

Walking to the girl's bathroom on the second floor, Sirius idly whistled a tune to himself. He'd never interacted with the girl and had only heard a few stories for Lily Evans regarding how horrible she could be when you needed to pee. Grasping onto the handle of the door, he turned it and had to duck quickly as a roll of toilet paper almost hit him in the face.

"What do you want?" the ghost wailed, glaring at him. "Are you here to make fun of me?"

"No. No! I want—I want to talk to you."

"Me? A boy wants to talk to me? This is a surprise. Who are you?" she asked, floating closer to him.

"Sirius Black."

"Oh, I knew someone just like you. His name was Orion. A few years younger than me and in Slytherin."

"…That's my father."

"Pleased to meet you. You seem much kinder than your father. Are you a Slytherin also?"

"No. I'm in Gryffindor."

"Good. I prefer Gryffindors to Slytherin boys. At least you know how to treat a lady," she said, smiling. "Is there anything you would like to talk to me about? You must have come here for a reason."

"I was wondering if you remember a girl named Sakura. Sakura Haruno?"

"Oh, of course. She was nice to me- awfully busy though, never had time for friends she said- and had the most interesting shade of hair. She swore she wasn't a metamorphmagus, but how else could she have pink hair and green eyes? So odd."

"I was wondering what happened to her. The records indicate that she started in 1938 but nothing else."

"That's because she _disappeared_."

"She disappeared?"

"One day in fourth year, almost a year before I died, she just vanished. I saw her at dinner reading as usual, and she was gone the next day. No one knew what happened. Headmaster Dippet searched for her a little, but...he quit looking for some reason. He just called off the search even though Professor Dumbledore said they should keep looking. They never found a body or anything, and her ghost hasn't been seen anywhere in the castle."

"So we can assume that she's not dead," Sirius muttered.

"I suppose so. Nice girl like her could have had anything happen. She did tell me about a boy she was seeing, but she would not tell me his name no matter how much I begged. She said he would be 'most displeased.' I am not sure how long they were seeing each other, but no one seemed to mourn her outside of Ravenclaw house. Like I said, she was not very social."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall. The mystery was a lot more complicated than he had thought. How did a girl completely disappear and not be found by some of the most talented wizards? Either she hadn't wanted to be found or something evil had befallen her. Sirius thanked Myrtle for her help, promised to return with friends, and left.

It was growing late but he didn't want to return to the Gryffindor common room yet. Still, his feet took him to the seventh floor of Hogwarts. His mind was trying to work through the mystery of Sakura Haruno and her disappearance. Sirius realized that he had reached a dead end and turned around to go back, passing by a door he hadn't noticed before. Looking up, he saw a hideous tapestry of Barnabas teaching trolls to dance. Shaking his shaggy locks, he looked closer at the door. He had never seen it before. It was plain, and almost compelled him to look away, but something inside of him- an unknown curiosity- wanted to look.

Opening the door he met an odd sight. There was a large four-poster bed similar to the ones in the common rooms with blue hangings and bronze blankets that were ruffled from an obvious occupant who hadn't bothered to make it. Large bookshelves lined the walls and were filled with tomes. Several books covered the floor horizontally and vertically, making it a maze. A large black chair stood in front of a cheery fire and Sirius' eyes landed on someone sitting there.

The girl had long pink hair that covered most of her face, because she was bent over a book. The sound of the fire crackling and a page turning covered up his barely contained gasp as he realized that this must be Sakura Haruno, or at least a descendant of hers. His face carried him across the plush carpet and before he was aware of it he was in front of the girl. She seemed to finally realize that he was there and looked up.

"You are not Tom," she said, surprised.

"Who's Tom?"

"My boy—a friend. I'm meeting him here shortly."

"What's your name?"

"It is common courtesy to give your name first."

"Sirius Black."

"The only Black I know is named Orion. You look similar, but slightly different. Why are you here?"

"I think you're confused," he said, softly. "What year is it, Sakura?"

"It is the year of our Lord, 1942."

"No. It's October 24, 1975."

"No," she said frowning. "It is December 17, 1942. I remember it clearly. I just ate dinner and came here to meet my boy—friend. My friend, and now you have shown up. Do kindly leave before he finds out I have been consorting with mad men."

"Look, Sakura, I'm telling the truth. You have to believe me."

"No, you believe me."

"Well then, who are you waiting for?"

"Tom Riddle. He's a Slytherin boy, and he's going to help me learn a new spell that will help me pass my O. next year."

"Tom Riddle graduated already. I don't know how this happened, but you have to come with me. We can go talk to the headmaster."

"Headmaster Dippet? Oh, please, he's daft. Tom says that he'll believe anything."

"No, Professor Dumbledore is headmaster now. He has been since the 50s or something."

"Ridiculous. Please go."

"I can't."

"Well, why not? You certainly possess feet."

"Because I've been looking for you."

"And now you have found me. Your quest is complete."

"No it's not."

"You must be a Gryffindor."

"I am."

"But," she paused, "you're a Black. All Blacks are in Slytherin. It's the Pureblood way."

"I don't give a damn about the Pureblood way."

"Obviously, or you wouldn't be talking to me," she said, smiling. "You remind me of Tom. Although your haircut is far too unkempt. Have you not a pair of scissors?"

"This is the style nowadays."

"I still believe you to be a mad man. What can I do to convince you?"

"What can I do to convince you that it's 1975?" he asked.

"Who is the muggle prime minister?"

Sirius searched his mind of some scraps of muggle newspapers that Kreacher used for bedding. "Harold Wilson?"

"Wrong. Winston Churchill," she said, smiling. "You must be daft."

"You are annoying me," he said. "How can I prove anything to you when you refuse to believe it?"

"If I am really in the future- however that may have happened- then tell me, who wins the war?"

"The Allies. Germany loses. Grindelwald loses to Dumbledore in 1945. What else can I say?"

She paused, stood up, and walked toward the bed. "What happened to Tom?"

"I have no idea who that is."

She fell onto the bed, wrapped the blankets around her, and closed her eyes. "I am dreaming. That is the only explanation. I've been stressed and this is a result. Tom said this would happen if I worked myself too hard."

"This isn't a dream."

"Prove it, time traveler. Prove it like you proved that Germany loses the war."

"I can't spout random facts about reality."

"Try," she whined, rubbing her temples.

It seemed like that small movement made Sirius look at her closely. She did look stressed, and tired. Perhaps she was on the verge of losing her mind. He sat down beside her on the bed and, without thinking, brushed the pink hair away from her face. Her bright green eyes opened and he thought for a moment that she must think he was crazy—maybe he was—but proving that she was here, right now, with him suddenly seemed very important. Perhaps it was his Gryffindor bravery and stupidity together rolled into one, but he leaned down and carefully pressed his lips to hers.

Her body froze underneath him and he pressed a little harder, trying to illicit a reaction from her. The reaction he got was a spell setting the tapestries on fire. Standing up, he stared down the handle of her wand. It was a style that he was unfamiliar with, obviously old, and he wondered what it was made of.

"How—how dare you? That—just who do you think you are?"

"You think I'm a time traveler, does it matter?"

"You are the worst man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. You think that you may kiss a woman shortly after making her acquaintance?"

"I didn't know what I was doing. Sorry."

"That is not a true apology," she huffed. "Apologize properly."

"I'm not apologizing for something I enjoyed."

"Do not be a wise guy with me. I am not naïve Mr. Black!"

"Call me Sirius," he replied, thinking that she looked very cute when she was angry with him. "What's your wand made of?"

"Did I ask if you are wearing undergarments? Do not be so impertinent."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. It's just a question."

She blushed and stuttered. "Go. I want you out of here."

"I'm not leaving until you answer some questions."

"Fine."

"What is this room?"

"The Come and Go Room or the Room of Requirement. It appears when you need it."

"So, because I was looking for you this room appeared?"

"I do not fully understand it myself. This is the first time the room has appeared to me this way. Usually it is either a room filled with all sorts of things or an empty classroom where I might study more."

"Have you tried leaving?"

"I told you that I am waiting for Tom."

"And I'm telling you that Tom is not coming," Sirius replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. She raised her wand again and glared at him. With some regret he removed his hand from her shoulder. "So…what is your wand made of?"

"If you must know it is black palm, 14 ¾ inches, with essence of a hair from a dryad. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes."

"What is yours?" she asked.

"English Oak, 15 inches, with dragon heartstring. I've never heard of a wand with those materials before."

"I bought mine from Ollivander's when I was eleven as is the fashion."

"So did I."

"Geraint?"

"No, Garrick."

"But Garrick is an apprentice. He graduated from Ravenclaw a few years ago before I came to Hogwarts. How can he sell you a wand?"

"Because he owns the shop now."

"Nothing makes sense anymore," she moaned, lying back down on the bed.

"Try to leave."

"What?"

"Get up and try to leave. Maybe you'll run into your Tom on the way out."

"I can if I wanted to."

"Then do it," Sirius challenged, meeting her green eyes with his gray. She bit the corner of her lip and stood up, walking up to the door and putting her hand on the handle. Her hand wrapped around the knob and turned it. Suddenly, her body crumpled to the ground and Sirius ran forward to catch her. It was quite obvious from her state that she was unconscious, and he tried to think of reasons for her collapse. Was there some kind of curse on the room that prohibited her from leaving?

Her eyelashes fluttered and green eyes met his. "Oh hello, you're still here."

"You can't leave."

"I opened the door, did I not?"

"And then fainted."

"I do not faint," she said, sitting up and rubbing her head. "I do have an awful headache now. I blame all of your crackpot ideas."

"Sakura, will you allow me to get help for you?"

"Tom will know what to do."

"Tom isn't coming!" Sirius shouted, grasping onto her arms and holding her tightly. Why did this woman refuse to believe this situation? She'd been trapped in this room for nearly thirty years and hadn't aged a day. Only truly dark magic could defy the turning of time. Sirius noticed that her eyes were wet and she was beginning to cry.

"He promised me that he would. He said he was on his way after dinner."

"It's been thirty years since he left you in here. Don't you think he would have noticed that you're missing?"

"I—I don't know."

"I think Professor Dumbledore will now what to do. We should go to him."

"You mean you should. Apparently, I cannot get out of here."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me to go," he said, smiling.

"You have a lovely smile."

"You have beautiful eyes."

Her face turned red again and she offered him a small smile. Grasping onto her hand, he brushed his fingers against her cool skin. He didn't want to think about the fact she was technically in her forties, because all he wanted to think about was how to bring back that flash of a smile he had seen. She looked down at their touching hands and then back up at him.

"Are you carrying a torch for me?" she asked.

"If that means I like you then maybe I am," he said, flipping the hair out of his eyes so he could see her better.

"Well I, uh, like you also."

"Am I better looking than this Tom of yours?"

"You look different. You look like a rule breaker, Sirius."

"I like how you say my name."

"What about it do you like, Sirius?"

"How you drag the last s off like a snake."

"Maybe you are a Slytherin," she said, leaning closer to him.

"Not at all," he replied, getting closer.

It seemed only natural for their lips to touch again. Hers were cold and his were warm and her arms wrapped around his neck. Their bodies melded together without much notice from either of them and the cheery fire crackled in the background. Her fingers twisted in his hair and pulled. A groan escaped from his lips and a moan from hers. The bed was comfortable underneath them and the sheets tangled between their bodies.

"Sirius, you… you should go."

"Why?" he whined.

"So you can get the professor and get me out of here so we can continue this later."

"Why not continue it now and rescue you afterword?"

"That is good thinking."

"I must be a Ravenclaw," he whispered in her ear as he kissed his way down her neck.

"You are not smart enough."

"Ouch. Mean girl," he chastised, running a hand over her ass.

"Mean boy."

"My heart is as black as my name."

"I doubt it," she murmured, kissing him harder.

"Just shut up and kiss me. You talk too much."

She didn't give him a reply other than to do as he wished. Sirius Black wasn't thinking about his friends, house, classes, upcoming O.W.L.s, his birthday, or anything other than the girl in front of him. The mystery had been solved and the detective was getting rewarded for finding the missing girl. Sirius Black was definitely not bored any longer.

* * *

**Rayne Says: I did have some trouble with the ending. I hope that you enjoyed it. Now to answer some questions.**

**1. I did take the liberty with some of the dates. Moaning Myrtle doesn't have a last name so I gave her one. She also was estimated to have began attending Hogwarts in either 1939 or 1940, but for my purposes I made it 1938 so she'd be in the same year as Sakura and Tom.**

**2. Tom Riddle. Ah yes, where do I begin? Obviously I made him a character that is mentioned but never described in this chapter. At this point in Harry Potter, Voldemort's terror had not become apparent so Tom Riddle is an unknown former student to Sirius. To Sakura, he was a charming boy that offered to teach her new spells. Instead he was testing the abilities of the Room of Requirement. He specified that it should be a 'bedroom full of books where time did not pass and it where it would be impossible for Sakura Haruno to leave.' I took the liberty with food, despite it being impossible to have the room provide food, because Sakura does have to eat. She can always have water come out of her wand. She's unaware of the passing of time because once she entered the room time stopped for her, and she just feels that she's been waiting forever. Kind of like in the land of faerie where an hour there is a day in the real world. So, Tom put her in this room because he was testing immortality. It obviously worked, but only within the confines of the room. So he just left Sakura there. The reason no one found her is because they would have to specifically look for the room where Sakura was. Hence why Sirius found her. It just worked out that the Gryffindor common room and the Room of Requirement are on the same floor. **

**3. The quote at the beginning is in reference to the relationship Sakura had with Tom Riddle. She chose to meet him and believe in the good of him and it cost her most of her natural life. **

**Now it's up to you...shall this be continued and Sakura will finish her years at Hogwarts with Sirius and the others? Or will she still be unable to leave? Will Tom return for her? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK...**

**Just felt like saying that. Please review with suggestions, comments, and more and I shall love you.**

**P.S. The pun I referenced in the chapter "Forever & Always" in regards to Tate- "There was something twisted in there, some nerve she couldn't identify and it broke her heart to see the spark of love that she remembered." This is referring to the song "Twisted Nerve" that plays during Tate's fantasy scene in the first episode and during the school shooting. It's also in the film Kill Bill. Now you know. **


	25. Desperately Seeking Alice

**Rayne Says: This chapter is from CRIMINAL MINDS. This is also the hardest chapters I've had to write. I'm not too proud of it, but I hope that you don't think it's a piece of rubbish. Please read and review.**

* * *

**Desperately Seeking** **Alice**

_SakuraxSpencer Reid_

_.:Reid's P.O.V.:._

"_Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction." –Alice in Wonderland_

Spencer Reid was a genius. This was a fact. It was also a fact that he worked for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Spencer Reid liked facts. They were concrete and, for the most part, unchangeable. As such it was a fact that Spencer Reid was on his way to the BAU to possibly take on a case or, in the more likely instance, do a mountain of paperwork that would make his hand cramp up.

Pushing open the glass door and surveying the obvious stack of files on his desk, he sighed. It looked like it was going to be an average day in the BAU. He heard the clack of heels and turned to see Garcia in another one of her get-ups. Today it appeared as though she wanted to match the snow outside. A white hat, white gloves, white blouse, and a cream skirt encased her curvy frame and Reid observed the lift of Derek Morgan's eyebrows in response to the sight. He also whistled at her, and she responded by slapping his butt. It never ceased to confuse Reid as to why they constantly flirted yet never pursued a relationship.

"Spence, meeting in five. We've got a case," JJ said, bustling past him to get to the meeting room.

"Got it," he replied, heading in the same direction. He stopped in front of the coffee machine and got himself a cup. Cleaning around the edge of the cup, and cursing the fact he'd forgotten his own in the apartment; he filled it to the brim with black liquid. Then he added two sugars and a little cream before going toward the meeting room. He took a seat beside JJ and waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

Rossi, Emily, and Morgan came into the room at the same time, all carrying identical files. JJ shuffled one towards Reid and he offered her a smile. Finally, Hotch came in and immediately began talking. "This morning the Rosewood Police Department called and asked for our assistance in what they are calling a serial kidnapping case. In the past four weeks two girls were kidnapped and their bodies were found thirteen days later. From what police can assume another girl, Sakura Haruno, was kidnapped two days ago."

"Assume?" Reid asked, staring at the photo of the pink-haired girl.

"Yes. She called in sick two days ago and hasn't been seen since then. Her mother called it in."

"Why didn't her mother notice her daughter was missing earlier?" JJ said.

"The mother is a doctor at the local hospital. It appears that she was on call most of those two days. She came home to find the girl missing and, when she didn't answer her cell phone, contacted the police. No ransom demands have been made. The previous bodies were found in the local area so the killer is most likely keeping them within city limits. Wheels up in thirty minutes. We're going to Nevada."

Reid was a little surprised that they were going to his home state, but didn't say anything. He left the room and walked to his desk. Grabbing his go bag and seeing the team members do the same, he nodded to Morgan. He watched as Morgan stopped to kiss the top of Garcia's head before joining him as they exited the building. They climbed into one of the black SUVs and drove to the airport. Reid glanced at the familiar jet and climbed up the steps. He would go through the case file on the plane. It wouldn't be a long flight to Las Vegas, Nevada and then a short drive to Rosewood. He had never been to the small town, but was familiar with their high school. Their basketball team had been one of the better teams in the district. He knew that it was a rural town with a small population. If the killer was local then that most likely meant that Sakura Haruno knew her kidnapper.

Taking a seat, he flipped open the manila folder and looked down at the pictures of the two previous victims. Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga were both seventeen year old girls. However, Miss Hyuga was tutored privately. Ino Yamanaka had attended the same school as Miss Haruno. It was noted in the file that they had been friends. That most likely meant that the other girl had been on alert due to her friend already being dead.

"Perhaps we should look at grief counselors provided by the school. It is likely that Miss Haruno knew her attacker, which also means that Miss Yamanaka did too."

Morgan pulled out his cell phone and pressed speed dial. "Hey baby girl, can you get me a list of grief counselors provided by Rosewood High School? Thanks."

Continuing on through the file, Reid noted that her natural hair color was pink. He wondered how that was possible. It was quite the anomaly. Looking down at her school schedule he noted that all of her classes were AP or Honors. She was obviously quite intelligent. It was possible that she could try to contact authorities secretly or leave clues.

"Were there any clues in the girl's bedroom? Anything the mother noticed as being out of the ordinary?" he asked.

"Nothing, but the mother was quite distressed," Hotch observed.

He nodded and looked back down. If she had been kidnapped from somewhere other than her house then it was imperative that they find the primary scene. He began writing down questions for the mother when they landed. Turning to another page it revealed that her parents were divorced and her father was currently in jail for…domestic abuse. Shaking his head, he took another sip of coffee and tried to focus and think of the geographic profile. Rosewood was small. She lived within five miles of the school. The Yamanaka girl had lived seven miles away and the Hyuga girl had lived ten miles away. Therefore she was the closest victim to the school.

It could be possible that the unsub worked at the school and was growing more confident. From the assumed date of the abduction that meant that they had eleven days to save Sakura before the unsub killed her. All of the bodies had strangulation marks on the neck and several bruises over various parts of the body. He barely noticed that the plane had landed and it was only when JJ tapped his shoulder that he noticed.

The ride to Rosewood and the police station was short. They walked into the station and were greeted by a small, timid-looking man who identified himself as Sheriff Dunham. He led them into a cramped conference room where pictures of the three girls were posted on the wall. Sakura's picture was scowling at the camera. It seemed like an odd choice for the room.

Hotch gave the usual introductions and Reid was only mildly surprised when Sheriff Dunham didn't question the title of Dr. in front of his name. They sat down in the conference room and began discussing the case. It appeared that the rest of the team had drawn the same conclusions that he had. The sheriff dropped a newspaper on the table where the headline THIRD GIRL GOES MISSING. The following article was a statement of facts and some opinions. JJ looked displeased with the leaked information, but there wasn't much control over the press here.

"We'd like to interview Mrs. Haruno, please. As soon as possible," Hotch said.

"That can be arranged."

"And we'd also like to take a look around the girls' rooms. And talk with students at their schools."

"Of course. We've already done some preliminary interviews if you'd like to look at those files."

"Yes, please," Reid answered. "And I'd like all of the newspapers since the first girl went missing."

"Yes. Officer Smith, get this boy some newspapers. We appreciate you coming down here and helping us out with this. We thought it was merely a coincidence with the first two but Miss Haruno changed our minds."

"Why is that?"

"Because she is smart enough not to fall for a kidnapper's usual tricks. The son of a bitch would have to be either really strong or cunning enough to get her."

"Understood. We know that we have eleven more days before her body is found. Did your medical examiner find a time of death?"

"We had to send the bodies to Las Vegas to get it done. That's where it gets troubling. I-Ino, the first victim, was killed after twelve days. The second victim was killed after only eight."

"That's a quick escalation," Emily said, biting the corner of her lip as her eyes flicked up to the pictures. "That could possibly mean she didn't give the unsub the satisfaction that he wanted or that he is going to kill faster this time. That means that the new victim could be killed within four days or more."

"Knowing Sakura," Sheriff Dunham said, pausing, "it could be quicker. She does tend to piss a person off."

"You seem to be familiar with the victim," Morgan observed.

"In a town this small it's hard not to be."

"Will it hinder this investigation?" Hotch questioned harshly.

"No. I just want to put a stop to this bastard."

"I want you to stay and help interview Mrs. Haruno with me. Morgan and Reid I want you to go to her house. Prentiss, you go to the school."

"Understood," they answered, grabbing their things and departing.

Morgan and Reid arrived at the small cottage within five minutes. Mrs. Haruno was just exiting and she paused as she met their gazes. Her green eyes were red-rimmed and her blonde hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail. She looked at them with empty eyes and walked past them to her car. The front door was still open. Reid put on a pair of rubber gloves and walked in. The house was clean, almost obsessively so, and it smelled like flowery air freshener. There was an empty bowl of cereal in the sink and a glass beside it. The living room was small and the walls were covered with family photos and awards. Most of the photos were of Sakura and her mother. None of them had a father.

Opening the door at the end of the hall, Reid found what appeared to be Sakura's room. It was rather plain for a teenage girl. There weren't any magazine cutout pictures or posters of boy bands on the walls. Instead a painting by Van Gogh covered the space above a neat and organized desk. The bed was made, the corners of the sheets tucked in. A candle on the nightstand was almost burned all the way down. The scent was lavender, indicating that she needed stress relief from something. Several tall bookshelves lined the walls and were filled up with various tomes. He was surprised by the amount of classic literature in comparison to the more modern books. They also looked well-worn.

A chess set was sitting on her other nightstand, a game in progress. It was easy to tell that within five moves white would win. It was clear that she was a smart mind with a passion for literature and analysis. There was a laptop on her desk, but the memory had been erased. They would need to send that to Garcia for her to take a closer look at. Next to the laptop a dog-eared copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass sat. He flipped open to a page marked and raised an eyebrow at a high-lighted passage.

"_I think I should understand that better, if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it as you say it."_

Reid wondered what that meant. Why had she highlighted only that passage? When had she highlighted it? Was it before she was kidnapped? Was it a clue?

"Hey Morgan, take a look at this," he called. Said man entered the bedroom, gave a cursory look, and then directed his gaze down at the book. "Do you think this means something?"

"We can't be sure."

"Besides this and her laptop it doesn't appear that anything is out of place. We should get back to the station so I can look at those newspapers," Reid said.

Morgan nodded and they left the cottage with the book and laptop in tow. They pulled up to the station and walked in. It was clear that Mrs. Haruno was still being interviewed. Reid went back to the conference room and sat down at the table. The officer had brought the newspapers to the room and it was a sizable stack. Reid sat down and began looking through. The majority of the paper was local news with a few articles on national news. The classifieds were short and most were usual. There was one that stood out for a second and Reid looked at it closely.

_"Alice, don't fall down the hole. Or you'll end up mad like me. - Cheshire Cat."_

It was published during the captivity of the Yamanaka girl. If he assumed that the girl was Cheshire Cat and Sakura was Alice then this message was written to her. What did it mean? She must have been warning Sakura not to get kidnapped. He wondered if there were other messages like this one. Flipping through the papers there wasn't anything from when the Hyuga girl had been kidnapped. She must not have known the other two girls. The paper from today had a classified that stood out.

_"Alice fell. Now she's lost in Wonderland. The Jabberwocky is watching. Help."_

"Guys, I think I found something. I think she's managed to communicate through the newspaper, and she's asking for help."

"How do we respond?"

Morgan flipped open his phone. "Garcia, I need information on someone who placed in ad in today's Rosewood Gazette."

"Okay sugar, let me see. Seven personal ads placed. Which one are you looking for?"

"Alice."

"Paid for in cash, sent in through the mail. No return address."

"Damn. Thanks honeybee."

"Keep me posted. I have the information on grief counselors hired by the school. There were three of them: two females, one male."

"Any of them have records?" Morgan asked.

"Not that I can tell. Wait, I have a sealed record here. It'll take some work to get through it, but I'll get back to you."

"Got it."

"Sheriff Dunham?" Reid called.

"Yes?"

"Can we place in ad in tomorrow's paper?"

"Of course."

Reid grabbed a piece of paper and began writing. _"Alice, can you get away? You're not mad yet.-Mad Hatter."_

"Now all we can do is wait."

**3 Days Missing**

_"Mad Hatter—how can I trust you? The Jabberwocky is mad, but not intelligent."_

Reid looked down at the ad and frowned. This was wasting precious time that they had. "She says that the unsub is not intelligent, and may seem to have some kind of psychological disorder. Garcia, can you pull up a list of locals diagnosed with a mental disorder or who may have spent time in a mental hospital?"

"Can do. There are twenty people on this list."

"Any that match up with previous lists?"

"Kakashi Hatake is diagnosed with PTSD and also teaches at Rosewood High."

"Does Sakura take any of his classes?"

"For the past two years she's been in his AP History classes."

"Morgan, go pick him up for an interview."

_"Alice. What do a raven and a writing desk have in common? The Kings and Queens are friends. We're here to help- Mad Hatter."_

** 4 Days Missing**

_ "Poe wrote on both. I give myself very good advice on a golden afternoon. Jabberwocky is confident. I'm not Lolita."_

"Sheriff Dunham? Can we get a copy of Disney's 1951 film of Alice in Wonderland?" Rossi asked, reading over Reid's shoulder. "She's offering us good clues without being two forward. What do you think she means by 'I'm not Lolita'?"

"He hasn't sexually assaulted her I would assume. It also means that the unsub is older than her."

The movie arrived at the desk shortly after and Rossi fast-forwarded through it to the songs mentioned. "Okay, so the songs she mentioned take place in a garden and in a forest. She might be offering clues as to her whereabouts."

_"Alice are you tall or short? Is the Jabberwocky a friend or foe?"_

** 5 Days Missing**

_ "Short and stout. It's dark. He's a friend of a foe. Ask mum."_

There were few people who were enemies of Sakura from what they gathered. Her mother however had a different story to tell. "Her father was a terrible man. Controlling and cold. It's why Sakura doesn't have many friends. She thinks it's her job to take care of me."

Morgan picked up his phone. "Garcia, are there any cellmates of Mr. Haruno who have been recently released?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Mr. Haruno's cellmate was released three months ago. His name is Hidan Ootenari. No records of employment or housing. It could be that he is staying with a friend."

"Do you have a picture?"

A picture was printed out of a handsome man with crazed eyes. His hair was almost white and slicked back.

"How does a man with no connections to the other girls kidnap them?"

_"Alice, the White Queen found the Jabberwocky. Where are you?-Mad Hatter."_

"We're ready to give the profile," Hotch said, standing up. "Gather your officers."

"From what we've gathered Sakura Haruno has been kidnapped by a man named Hidan Ootenari. He has been classified as a psychotic narcissist who believes in a god named Jashin. From documents gathered by the police during his prison stay it is clear that he believes this god requires human sacrifice. His first kill was sloppy which led to him being caught within 24 hours. Obviously he learned something in prison. It has been almost six days since Sakura Haruno was kidnapped. We have seven days left at most. She is being kept in a one story house with a garden and forest views."

Reid hoped that they could get to her in time. Something about the code they had established reminded him of the chess set she had in her room. He wondered how good she was at the game.

** 6 Days Missing**

_"Jabberwocky is growing fierce. Can the Red Queen cut his head off for me? I can't tell you, Mad Hatter, because the Bandersnatch is near and he knows more. –Alice."_

Reid could feel that she was growing hopeless. Her messages were longer and less clear. He wondered who the Bandersnatch was. A friend of Hidan's obviously, but who? He had more intelligence than Hidan and could possibly understand the messages they'd been exchanging. That made it more imperative to find her.

"I have the visitor's log. Hidan was visited once a month by a man who listed himself as I.U. I dug a little deeper and looked for connections to Sakura. According to Rosewood High's yearbook only one person has a last name beginning with U in Sakura's year. Sasuke Uchiha. He also has an older brother whose name just happens to begin with the letter I- Itachi Uchiha. Can I get a woot?"

"Woot, baby girl. Do you have an address?"

"5455 Cherry Lane. It's a one story house against the forest being leased to Itachi."

The team put on Kevlar vests and jumped into the SUVs. The sirens were kept off and it was clear once they arrived at the house that someone was home. A black sedan was parked in front of the garage and small garden was next to the sidewalk leading up to the door. Hotch led the SWAT team to the front door and kicked it open. There were a few shouts and one burst out of a window and took off running. Several cops pursued the man and Reid could hear Hotch talking to another man in the house.

"Itachi, we just want the girl? Put the gun down and we can talk. Where is Sakura Haruno?"

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Your friend kidnapped and killed two other girls. We are looking for the third."

"No idea what you are talking about."

"Tell us now."

"I want a lawyer," the black-haired boy said smoothly, lowering the gun and smiling. Hotch reached forward and kicked the gun away before putting cuffs around the man's wrists and leading him to the car. Reid went forward into the house and opened all of the doors. One room held only a small mattress, newspapers, and a window with bars on it. There were a few pink hairs on the pillow and Reid knew that this was where Sakura had been held. Flipping through the newspapers he couldn't find any clues she might have left. He flipped the mattress over and found a single article with red writing on it. In horror he realized that it was blood.

_"M.H. JB and BS are taking me to the tulgey wood. –A."_

"They took her into the woods. She may be bleeding or injured."

The team went out into the woods and began following some disturbances in the brush. They led to several trees. Morgan's foot went forward and almost fell through some brush as leaves and twigs fell down into a giant hole. Reid peered over the edge and saw a flash of pink through all of the leaves. "She's down here. We need medics immediately!"

Reid jumped into the hole and brushed away all of the leaves from Sakura's body. Her eyes were closed shut in pain and her breathing was jagged. Putting his arms underneath her body he lifted her up and handed her up to Morgan. He jumped out of the hole and followed Morgan to the waiting ambulance. He watched as she was strapped down to a gurney and shipped off to the hospital.

Waiting next to the hospital bed, Reid looked down at the girl. The doctors had discovered mostly malnutrition and bruises. She had a fractured clavicle and a stab wound to her abdominal. It hadn't been fatal, but he was sure that the mental scarring would last for the rest of her life. He remembered everything that had happened during his own experience being the victim and he knew that he would never forget it. He only wished that she could forget.

Sakura's eyes blinked and then opened and Reid was shocked at the bright green color. She gazed at him for a second, confused, before something akin to recognition dawned. "Mad Hatter?" she croaked.

"It's me, Alice. You're safe. You're out of Wonderland."

"How—never mind. I know how you found me."

"You do?"

"You're obviously quite intelligent. I can understand how my clues would lead you to me."

"I was…I was worried that we wouldn't find you."

"You were?" she said, smiling. "I can't say that I'm not surprised. What's your real name?"

"Spencer Reid."

"Thank you, Spencer Reid, for saving my life."

"It's nothing."

"No it's not. I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for it. Itachi convinced Hidan to help him get revenge on all of the girls who dumped his brother. I always knew something was off about him."

"We're going to need you to give a full account on what happened."

"I understand," she replied. "Can—can you give me the interview? I'm more comfortable talking to you."

"Of course."

Her eyes brightened for a second when they landed on the chessboard he'd been using to keep himself preoccupied while he waited for her to wake up. "You play?" she asked.

"I do."

She looked at the board closely before muttering, "Knight to B8."

He moved the piece she said and noticed that it placed the black king in check. He moved the bishop in front of the king.

"Pawn to F4."

The game continued on and it seemed like they were equally matched. Sakura seemed to gain the upper hand and captured most of his pieces. With every move her smile grew until she finally said, "Check mate." Reid looked at the board in surprise and watched as the smile slid off of Sakura's face.

"Hello, Ms. Haruno, we're here to ask some questions," Hotch said, coming into the small hospital room and looking down at her. She seemed to shrink under his gaze and she looked to Reid for assurance.

"Don't worry. This is Aaron Hotchner, the March Hare."

"Oh. Ask me your questions."

"I understand that this is hard, but can you describe the period of time that you were kept?"

Sakura launched into the story of her kidnapping. It was obviously quite painful for her and she winced several times before carrying on in her story. Her hand sought Reid's and he willingly gave it to her to hold. He found that her skin was soft and her hand was warm as he held it. It was then that Spencer Reid promised himself that he would never forget Sakura Haruno, and he hoped that she would not forget him. It was a fact that Reid could not deny the attachment and curiosity that was directed to the girl. He only hoped that it was returned.

"_Curiouser and curiouser." –Alice in Wonderland._

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**Rayne Says: Obviousy the two quotes at the beginning and end are put there to simulate an episode of Criminal Minds. I don't really love this chapter, even though I love Spencer Reid. Maybe a future chapter will be better if I write with him. So..the next chapter has a 90% chance of being Ichigo and Sakura, and trust me it won't be like the past couple chapters in regards to their relationship. There will be fluff! How much fluff do you want? Review and tell me.**


	26. Just the Way You Are

**Rayne Says: This is the promised chapter for BLEACH. And I have to say that this chapter was inspired and given to you on this date for a special reason. Today 3/14/12 is my second year anniversary with my boyfriend. So, sorry male fans, but I'm spoken for. He's the best guy in the world, and he inspires each chapter in a way. So the fluff in this chapter is not super big, but it's full of emotion (mostly good) and cuddling and such. The title is obviously taken from the song "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars.**

**Bold: Ichigo speaking internally or writing.**

* * *

**Just the Way You Are**

_IchigoxSakura_

_.:Ichigo's P.O.V.:._

It was a hot day in the classroom, and that was saying it lightly. The neck ties like nooses around the students' necks had been loosened, and would soon be removed for a short time during the lunch break. Ichigo Kurosaki was suffering in silence; both from the heat in the room with the broken air-conditioner and from the pink-haired girl in the seat next to him. From the corner of his eye he glanced at one of his closest friends, Sakura Haruno. She was scribbling down notes diligently and biting the corner of her lip. In the darkest parts of his heart, Ichigo wished that he could feel what they felt like and know what it was like to kiss his best friend.

He had been harboring this secret for a while now, and had yet to speak aloud of what he felt. It would complicate things. Not just their friendship, but also her safety in her absolutely human world. Sakura didn't know he was a shinigami and he wanted to stay that way. It was too late for Chad, Orihime, and many others, but not too late for her. Even if it meant he had to hurt himself to keep her unhurt, he would do it. For her. In the back of his mind he knew that he loved her, but all that he acknowledged was that what he felt for Sakura Haruno was more than just a friendly admiration.

Her hair fell over her shoulder, creating a pink curtain that divided her face from his gaze. It was a pity. She had a pretty face, and he never got tired of seeing it. Ichigo was almost holding his breath to keep from whispering a meaningless question at her so she would turn to look at him with those beautiful green eyes. Instead he felt a piece of chalk fly through the air and hit his head. He ignored the white dust covering his hair and turned his focus to the book following it.

"Oi, Kurosaki! Pay attention."

A feminine giggle emanated from the girl beside him and he groaned. Ichigo leaned back in his chair and tried to focus on the board. It wasn't working too well. His mind completely avoided the rambling of his teacher and instead focused on the few minutes before the bell would ring and he would be free to eat his lunch—which consisted of a juice box and some kind of fruit. He was also hoping that said lunch would not be interrupted by hollows and could instead be spent in the lovely company of the girl he was in lo-like with. He liked her…as a friend. Yes, as a friend.

A small scrunched up piece of paper landed on his desk. He unfolded it and looked down.

_ "Pay attention Strawberry. I don't have time to help you study."_

**"I don't need your help."**

_"Yeah you do and you know it."_

**"Do not."**

_ "Do too."_

**"Do not Pinky."**

_"You really want to fight this battle? Last time I kicked your ass."_

**"We were five!"**

_"Same difference. I always win."_

**"After school then. A little spar?"**

_"I can't. Sasuke and I have a date."_

Ichigo tried not to grind his teeth at the mention of Sakura's boyfriend of four months. Something about the dark haired and eyed boy didn't sit well with him. Sasuke had an aura of power that reminded Ichigo of a hollow. He had tried to talk to Sakura about him, but she was in love with the guy. In fact, Sasuke had been demanded more and more of Sakura's time. He'd rarely seen her outside of school in the past month. It was annoying to not have full access to one of his friend, and he had a feeling that she was hiding something from him. It was a feeling that nagged at him at odd moments when he caught a look in her eye that shouldn't have been there—the look of fear. When he asked her about it, she'd laughed and shook her head like Orihime did when she was lying. Both girls were similar, and it was a wonder that they weren't friends, but Sakura said she couldn't put up with the other girl and left it at that.

**"Some time later?"**

_"Sure. How about tomorrow?"_

**"Works for me Cherry."**

_"Pay attention Strawberry."_

Sakura held onto the note and he was forced to try to pay attention again. The class passed, and it was all Ichigo could do to not look at Sakura every five seconds. A pain in the back of his head announced the presence of Ichigo's inner hollow, an unwelcome pain in the ass if there ever was one. The feeling in his own head was like oil leaking onto water. It was wrong and there was nothing he could do to get rid of the beast.

_**Ichigo and Sakura sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-**_

**Shut up! I don't like her that way.**

_**You LOVE her. How cute. Widdle Ichigo has a cwush.**_

**I do not. Go away before I getsuga your ass to Hell.**

_**Ima part of ya Ichigo and I wanna come out and play.**_

Ichigo was drawn out of his inner conversation by a tap on the shoulder. "Strawberry, it's lunch time."

"I knew that."

"I could tell by the drool pooling out of your mouth."

"Stop being a smart ass."

"You think I'm smart? That's so cute."

"You need to get your ears checked," he muttered.

"And you need to get your head checked," she replied, smiling as she brought out a bento box and broke apart her chopsticks. "What have you got today?"

"The usual."

"I swear, for being the son of a doctor you're seriously malnourished."

"I'm not malnourished."

"You are. I can feel the bones beneath your skin," she gasped, grabbing onto his arm and squeezing. The feeling of her skin on his was indescribable and he immediately wished that things were under different circumstances. As it was, he could only hold back his blush (because blushing was not manly at all and if anyone in Seretei heard about it they wouldn't shut up about it) and gently pry her hand off of his arm.

"Eat your food. You're the one who's malnourished."

"Sasuke says I could stand to lose a few pounds."

"That prick doesn't know what he's talking about. He wants a woman like Ino who is practically a walking stick." Apparently he'd said the wrong thing because she got a pained look in her eyes and averted her gaze from his. He bit the corner of his lip and ruffled his hair with a hand. "I didn't mean that you should be like that. You're fine the way you are."

"Gee thanks," she muttered.

He was about to begin a tirade on Sasuke and how the back of his head looked like a chicken's ass when said prick knocked on the door and came into the room. He smirked, because he was incapable of smiling, and nodded in Ichigo's direction. Ichigo barely managed a nod back because Sakura had that look of fear back in her eyes and he knew it was related to the chicken ass.

"Hey, I'll see you later," she said, looking at him before standing and linking her arms with Sasuke's.

"See you," he replied, watching her as Sasuke guided her out of the arm and they turned at the door. Something about that boy…

The next day turned out to be worse than the day before in regards to how much it sucked. For one thing, he was late to class due to a rampaging hollow and he had a feeling his hair looked particularly uncool. For another Sakura wasn't there. The seat next to him was loudly empty and he couldn't help the fact that his gaze was riveted on it for most of the day. After school he tried to text her, but she wasn't replying. It was unsettling. They hadn't gone a day without speaking before. Sure, he'd gone to Soul Society (which had horrible cell service, but he was actually surprised that his worked in the first place) and had been terribly busy rescuing Rukia and then Orihime, but they always talked. It was the one thing he could count on in the world. They would always talk. About nothing mostly, but they talked about everything from karate to kittens. It was their thing. Ichigo liked that they had a thing. He bet that Sasuke and she didn't have a thing.

He didn't even know what she saw in the guy.

It was probably just his looks, but he'd never taken Sakura for shallow before.

It really was weird that she wasn't texting him back.

Quite unSakura really.

Something must be wrong.

Or she was busy?

No. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it.

_**Quite being a scaredy cat and go check on her. Ya know ya wanna.**_

Just because he was going to check on her didn't mean that his Inner Hollow was in charge. It just meant that they agreed on something for once.

The streets blurred by as he walked quickly to her house. It didn't seem right to outright run and startle the pedestrians because if he ran into someone he knew what would he say? Just running to Sakura's house to make sure that she's fine because he lo-_liked_ her. Just running to check and make sure she hadn't turned into a zombie or lost her virginity to that damn Sasuke before him. Just running to be sure that she was still on the same planet as his so he could continue to observe her beauty from a careful distance to protect her from every bad thing out there. Yeah. He was just running for no reason at all. That's what he'd say. And so Ichigo Kurosaki ran to Sakura's apartment as quickly as he could.

He practically flew up the stairs and kicked down her door with his foot, but he managed to rein in the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him and pulled it together behind a calm face. He knocked three times on the door and called her name. Eventually the door opened and the chain was all that hung between him and her. "Sasuke?" she asked, her voice wavering in an unfamiliar way.

"No. It's Ichigo," he replied, quirking an eyebrow up. She usually didn't keep the chain up when she was home. She only did that before she went to bed.

"Oh, um, I'm sick. You might not want to come in. You'll catch it."

"Which is Sakura-speak for 'come in and fix me.' Come on, Cherry, I know you. You want me to make you some chicken soup or something, right?"

"Maybe."

"Open the door before I kick it open."

"You sure are violent," she said, the chain unlocking and then the door opening to reveal a pajama-clad Sakura. She looked tired and he immediately had to quell the urge to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. A large yawn forced itself out of her mouth and she shivered as a draft came into the room. Ichigo pushed past her and closed the door. She threw him a glare and shuffled to the mattress on the floor.

"What do you have to eat?"

"Food."

"Fine. I'll look," he replied, opening a cabinet and peering inside. There were several cans of food and he looked closely at each one before selecting a few. Looking inside the fridge he found some vegetable and a chicken that looked like it was still good. He gathered the ingredients and grabbed a pot from the cabinet. Filling it with water and turning on the burner, he set the water to boil and grabbed a wash cloth to run under cool water. "This is for your forehead."

"I don't have a fever."

"Doesn't matter. It feels good either way," he said, setting it on her forehead. Her eyelashes fluttered under his gaze and he couldn't help but feel worried. She did look ill, and he picked up the wash cloth and then pressed his lips against her forehead without thinking. When he realized what he'd done a warm current rushed through him. "Oh, um, I was just taking your temperature."

"I have a perfectly good thermometer."

"Didn't want to look for it."

"Lazy Strawberry."

"Sick Cherry. Shut up and rest. I'm making you soup."

"You don't have to…"

"If I don't do it then you won't eat."

"I'll eat," she pouted, burying herself under the blankets.

"Good. Relax and let the master work."

There was a muffled reply from under the mound but he couldn't make out what she'd said. Deciding it was most likely something explicit he shrugged and returned to the soup he was making. It was turning out rather well, and he started on some studying while it cooked. After a suitable amount of time he tasted the soup and it actually was quite delicious. He poured a bowl for Sakura and a bowl for himself and added an iced cube to hers to cool it off. Walking back to her bed, he leaned down and poked the form.

"Mhmm?"

"Soup's done. Do you need me to feed it to you too?"

"No. I'm not that sick," she said, emerging from the blankets. Her hair was ruffled in a bird's nest. Her eyes were droopy. There was a little drool trailing from the corner of her mouth. Ichigo thought she'd never looked more beautiful.

"Good," he managed to force out, handing her the bowl. She offered him a smile and took it from him, taking a spoonful to her mouth.

"This is good."

"Don't act all surprised. You've tasted my cooking before."

"This is extra good though."

He laughed and had some himself. It was rather good. He'd outdone his bento box for her from the fifth year. He'd said that he'd had an extra and handed it off to her all cool like. He'd just liked her then. He lo-LIKED her now just more so. A strand of hair fell in her face and moved it away gently. Her green eyes met his and whatever breath had been in his lungs escaped. The only thought that crossed his mind was how good it would feel to kiss her lips. But her eyes fell down and she coughed into her soup and he had to pat her back to make sure she didn't choke.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine." Something about the way she said fine seemed more than forced to him. It was like a recited line. Something she had practiced a lot. It unsettled him and he had to shake his head to get the feeling out of his body. Sakura smiled up at him, oblivious to his inner turmoil, and held up her bowl. "Thanks Ichigo, you're the best."

"I know."

"You can go now that you're done taking care of me."

"I'm not done."

"What?"

"Obviously I have to make sure you're well taken care of. That Sasuke didn't come and make you soup or anything so he's a jackass."

At the mention of her boyfriend her eyes clouded over and he knew that he'd said something wrong. She just shrugged, offered that broken smile, and burrowed back under the blankets. It hurt something inside of him to know that something was hurting her and she wasn't comfortable telling him what it was. Sakura had always told him everything (well almost everything, he didn't want to know that gross stuff like when she got her period or whatever) and it was an unfamiliar thing to have a wall of silence between them.

Her eyes closed and her breathing softened, but Ichigo could tell that she was uncomfortable. "Maybe if you take your shirt off you'd feel better."

"You're a pervert."

"I'm just speaking the truth."

"No."

"I know you're wearing an undershirt."

"That doesn't make a difference."

"Take it off."

"No."

"Just take it off and feel better."

"No, Ichigo."

Something about the way she called him Ichigo and not Strawberry told him that something was under that shirt that she didn't want him to know about. "Sakura. Take it off."

"No."

Grasping the edges of her light blue long-sleeved shirt he pulled it up, with some difficulty from Sakura's flailing arms, and threw it on the floor. His victory was short lived. Underneath the fabric she'd been hiding something from him. Black, blue, and yellow bruises were blossoming on her hips and it was clear that she was in some pain. He didn't have to ask. Ichigo knew where those bruises had come from. "What did he do?"

"I-I fell. Clumsy me, you know?"

"God dammit, Sakura! What the hell did Sasuke do to you?"

"He didn't mean it."

"He didn't mean to punch you and leave bruises? That's bull."

"It's the first time."

"You've been acting like this for a while. I can tell it's not."

"Fine. It's the fourth time, but he only does it because he gets frustrated with me," she said, eyes downcast.

"That doesn't mean he's allowed to hit you! You deserve better than him. I'm going to find him and-"

"Don't go," she pleaded, her hand reaching up and grasping onto his wrist. She wasn't strong compared to him, but that stopped him. Inside he was a fury and he was barely holding back his Inner Hollow from gaining control and going to take care of the vermin that had hurt his Sakura. Outside he wiped the anger off of his face and managed to turn around. "Please Ichigo, don't leave me. I need you."

Something inside of him broke at those words. He had to be the bigger man now. Sakura need him here with her and not off breaking the neck of her abuser. There would time for that later. For now, he would stay with her and be there for her. Ichigo sat down beside Sakura and she looked up at him.

"Would you mind…sharing the bed with me? I need a hug right now."

He easily crawled onto the bed beside her. Her body melded against him and she was warm and soft and smelled just like he always imagined she would. He pushed the hair away from her eyes and she murmured something. Knowing the she found that soothing, Ichigo continued to rub her forehead with his thumb. She hazily turned around and burrowed into his chest, and he had a feeling that if she knew what she was doing she'd be embarrassed. His arms wrapped around her waist and his head rested on top of hers.

"Why do you think I let him hurt me?" she muttered.

"You didn't let him. He took advantage of you."

"I could have defended myself, you know that. Why didn't I?"

"Because you loved him," he said, practically grinding the words through his teeth.

"Yeah, and look how that worked out," she said, her words blurring together.

"You do crazy stuff when you're in love."

"How…do you…know?" she yawned, her head bobbing as she drifted in and out of consciousness. He could tell that she was fighting sleep, and it was kind of cute. In a Sakura way.

"Because I love you," he said, realizing only after he said it that she'd fallen into sleep's gentle grip. He did. He did love her and the delusions were torn away from him. He'd be better able to protect her if he stayed close. He could protect her from everything in his world and hers. And he would definitely kick Sasuke's ass to the Hollow world when Sakura was well enough for him to sneak off. Until then he would wait and be there for her to fall back on, because he had fallen for her. Ichigo Kurosaki loved Sakura Haruno impossibly, undeniably, and feverishly.

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**Rayne Says: Yes, I threw in that Twilight-ish sentence at the end because I felt like it. Hope you enjoyed and remember to review and suggest couples. I may be adding categories to this because I am expanding into new books and such. Every review you give me gets you a virtual cookie in return. So review, please? **


	27. A Golden Deal

**Rayne Says: Firstly, the main reason that I haven't updated since March is that I got into a loveless funk. My boyfriend (of the previous chapter) and I broke up, so I didn't feel the love. However, due to the recent popularity of this piece I've decided to begin updating every now and again.**

**The second reason is that I am focusing on my longest fanfiction yet. It's called KNOW THE PERILS and I recommend you check it out if you enjoy my writing or Harry Potter. It would mean a lot to me, because I've put an emormous amount of work into it.**

**This chapter is not very loving (again because I'm not feeling it), but I hope you enjoy it. This is a crossover with ABC's show ONCE UPON A TIME. If you're not familiar, don't worry-there aren't many spoilers as it is set before the show begins.**

Normal writing is Sakura. _Italic is Princess Lily._

* * *

**A Golden Deal**

_Mr. GoldXSakura_

_.:Sakura's P.O.V.:._

Sakura Haruno sat on a bench by the bus station, her hands firmly shoved into her pockets and the music from her headphones blaring, and waited. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for exactly, but she knew that she was supposed to be here at this time to meet someone. Her breath fogged up in the cool air and she zipped her hoodie up higher. It didn't make sense to meet this late, but she wasn't one to ask questions. She did as she was told, or at least, she usually did. This was quite out of character for her, but some chances were worth taking.

The song on her iPod changed, and she pulled the object out of her pocket to choose a different one. She picked a lovely piece by Schubert and rested her head against the back of the bench. It looked as if it was going to rain, something not too unusual for Storybrooke, Maine, and she sighed. She was going to be waiting here forever it seemed.

_In the dark woods by the castle, Princess Lily sat near the well. It was hot outside of the forest on this day, and in her petticoats and heavy dress it seemed most oppressive. She often retreated to this very place to play and be away from her older sisters and their worries. It seemed that all they cared about was finding a handsome prince to marry or escape a curse from a witch, and Lily didn't want to be caught up in their drama. The minutes seemed to pass by very slowly in the woods, and she often found herself bringing a golden ball to play with to pass the time. _

_ One day, as she was tossing the ball up and down in the air, it happened that it missed her hand and dropped into the well. She bent down to look for it, but the water was so deep that not even the bottom could be seen. It seemed petty to cry over a toy, but it had been her favorite ball and a gift from her late mother. Lily began to cry and the tears cascaded down her cheeks and onto her pink dress. _

"Have you been waiting long?" a voice asked Sakura, and she opened her eyes to see the familiar face of Mr. Gold, the neighborhood pawn shop owner. While she had never really talked to him, or gone into his shop, it seemed that he may have been the person asking to meet her.

"As long as I have this I'm entertained," she replied, pausing the music and gesturing to the iPod.

He smirked, a slow casual movement, and nodded. "Ah yes, the modern advances. I prefer my record player."

"You can't carry it around with you," she replied.

"No, I suppose not. Are you waiting for someone?"

Apparently he wasn't the stranger who had sent the message to her. She sighed and ran a hand through her pink hair before answering. "I thought that I was, but he's a no show."

"How do you know it was a he?"

Now that she didn't know. "Why would a woman ask me to meet them?"

"Perhaps an evil witch is trying to curse you," he laughed.

"Why would anyone want to curse me?"

He didn't answer her question and instead said, "What time were they supposed to meet you?"

"Eight o'clock," she replied, "although that clock tower is useless."

"Someone should fix that."

"They've tried haven't they? My watch says that it's eight thirty. I suppose prince charming isn't coming tonight."

"Now why would you say that?"

"He would have been here by now. After all, he set the time. What a jerk. I don't even want to meet him now."

She sighed and stood up, kicking at some dirt on the ground before pushing some hair out of her eyes. Mr. Gold simply stared at her before inclining his head. "Since your date has been cancelled, would you enjoy a cup of tea at my expense?"

"I don't like tea."

"Coffee then?"

Most people in Storybrooke were scared of Mr. Gold, and for good reason she supposed. He was notorious for his 'helping' of people, but how would a cup of coffee hurt? It wasn't like she was selling her soul for it. "Just for a bit."

_It seemed as though Princess Lily's tears would never stop. They only added to the water covering her precious golden ball. She heard the sound of footsteps nearby and looked up to see an odd-looking man holding a frog in his grasp. His skin glittered oddly in the light and she squinted her eyes, trying to figure out who he was. Before she could ask, he spoke._

"_What ails you, King's daughter? Your tears would melt a heart of stone."_

"_I weep because my golden ball has fallen into the well. It was a gift from my late mother," she said, wiping at her eyes with a handkerchief. _

_The man appeared quite manic all of a sudden, jumping up and laughing. She did not understand what was so humorous. "Never mind, do not weep," he said. "I can help you; but what will you give me if I fetch up your ball again?"_

"_Whatever you like: any of my clothes, my pearls and jewels, or even the golden crown that I wear."_

_He smiled. "Those are not for me, oh no, but if you would love me, and have me for your companion and play-fellow, and let me sit by you at the table, and eat from your plate, and drink from your cup, and sleep in your little bed—if you would promise me all this, then I would fetch your golden ball for you again."_

_Lily answered without thinking, "Yes! I will do all of that if you'll only get my ball." _

_In her mind she knew she was lying. The second he gave her the ball she would run as fast as her legs would carry her. She would return home and stay inside for a few days and then come back out. Surely the stranger would be gone then. _

"_Excellent," he said, pulling a long piece of parchment out of nowhere. "Before I do this for you, you must sign a contract promising me what you said. And remember…all magic comes with a price!"_

_She sighed, tired of his antics and thinking only of her golden ball, and grasped the quill. She signed quickly and waited as he laughed and rolled it up. Then, tapping the frog once on the head with his hand, he set it down. The little creature hopped toward the well and jumped in. It seemed only a few seconds longer before he resurfaced with her ball in his mouth. She laughed and took the toy from him, and ran off without another thought._

"_Stop, stop!" cried the strange man, but she paid him no heed._

It seemed oddly surreal to be sitting in the pawn shop of Mr. Gold and drinking coffee. Still, it was damn good coffee and it was fun to look around the shop as he made it. There were all sorts of odd objects. A clock, candelabra, a tea cup with a chip in it, a golden lamp, a pair of wooden puppets that were unsettling, and a cute mobile for a crib that had unicorns on it. Mr. Gold seemed rather amused by her fascination with the objects, but didn't comment on anything.

It was as her eyes were wandering that they landed on a small object in a display case. It was a small golden ball next to a crystal frog and she unconsciously stood up and walked toward it. Crouching down, she looked at it and the way the light played at the smooth surface. Somehow she knew that it would be fun to play with—although her rational mind questioned playing with a gold ball, after all she was nineteen—and she wanted to.

"Something caught your eye?" Mr. Gold asked, stepping behind her.

"Is that real gold?"

"Indeed, dearie. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes," she murmured.

He went behind the counter and pulled out the ball, holding it gently in his hand. She reached for it, fingers hesitating, but he drew it back before she could touch. "If you break it, you must buy it."

"How can you break gold?" she asked.

"Here," he said and she smiled as the ball was placed in her hands.

It was as smooth as she'd imagined, more beautiful than anything she could imagine, and she was oddly obsessed with it. "How much is it?" she asked.

"A priceless item like that? Six hundred dollars, and quite a steal might I say."

Her face fell. She didn't have six hundred dollars. Sakura had maybe a hundred saved in a shoebox under her bed, but no more than that. "Oh, sorry," she said, handing it back to him and feeling a wave of sorrow as she did so. "I can't…I can't afford that."

"I have payment plans," Mr. Gold said, "and I do make deals with some customers."

He was infamous for his deals and she'd always thought she'd never be caught by them. Was that all about to change? Her eyes were transfixed on the golden ball, and she swallowed. "What do you want?"

"Twenty-five dollars a week, and an hour of your company each day."

Had she heard that right? The payment plan wasn't what shocked her, that seemed quite reasonable, but it was the second request. "You want me to hang out with you?"

"Yes, it can be rather lonely here at times, and I'd enjoy fascinating conversation."

"I'm not very fascinating. Isn't there another way?"

"There is…one other option," he said. "You could work here, and earn it. You would be able to see it every day, and you would pay it off rather quickly. I need the extra help as I will have other matters to attend to shortly and will be rather busy."

That sounded more reasonable, and it would make her father happy to hear that she'd gotten a job. "You've got a deal," she replied.

"Excellent."

_Princess Lily ran all the way to the castle, her lungs bursting as she ran inside and closed the large door behind her. Her sisters looked rather startled, but didn't ask any questions. Her father was busy talking to some advisors. She was safe, and she still had her ball!_

_ She forgot about the strange man for the rest of the day and instead spent it reading books and playing with her ball. When she grew bored of that, she braided her pink hair and pretended that she was a warrior princess like that rogue Snow White. It was fun to wave her father's old sword around and slash at pretend witches and ogres. By the time dinner came she was famished and happy. _

_ It was as she was eating from a golden plate that she heard a loud knock upon the door. All of their heads popped up and they waited as a servant went to open the door. There, silhouetted against the bright moon and the darkness, was the odd man from earlier in the day. Lily groaned and grasped her fork in agitation. Would he not leave her alone?_

_ "Youngest King's daughter, lovely Lily, you forgot that we made a deal."_

_ "Who are you?" asked her father, banging his fist on the table._

_ "I? I am Rumpelstiltskin, and your daughter and I have business."_

_ Rumpelstiltskin? Where had she heard that name before?_

_ "You monster!" her father cried, and then turned his face to her. "Lily, what deal did you make? Tell me now!"_

_ "I made no deal," she lied._

_ "But I have your pretty signature on this contract," Rumpelstiltskin said, drawing it out and pointing to the line she'd signed. "You promised me your love, your company, a place at your table, your food, your drink, and a place in your bed."_

_ "Lily!" her father said, looking ashamed and worried for her. "How could you do this? What was worth your soul?"_

_ "I just wanted my ball," she said, tears beginning to fall from her eyes._

_ "And you have it," Rumpelstiltskin drawled. "Now…I'm rather hungry."_

_ Her father sighed. "That which you have promised you must perform."_

_ "Father!"_

_ "You made this mess for yourself," he said, standing and gesturing for her other sisters to leave the room with him. She was left alone with the shimmery-skinned man._

_ "What's for dinner?"_

Sakura went back to the shop the next day for her first day at work. It was with great pleasure that she went about dusting all of the objects, all while watching the golden ball in the display case. She made sure to clean the glass of that particular case extra well. Her obsession was rather annoying and confusing. Why did she want it?

Her questions remained unanswered as she cleaned, and it was only once everything looked shiny and new—or as best it could in an antique shop—that she sat down to rest. She opened the display case and took out the ball, holding it in her hands and marveling over it yet again. Without thinking, she tossed it up and down, and eventually just did so to pass the time.

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon that the little bell over the door rang and she looked up. She vaguely recognized Henry, the mayor's son, and waved a little hello. "How can I help you?"

He looked around, uncertain, and stepped forward. His eyes rested on her golden ball and she pulled it closer to her. He couldn't have it. "I'm looking for Mr. Gold," he said.

"He's out at the moment. Should I tell him you're looking for him?"

"N-no. Hey, what's your name?"

"Sakura," she replied. "I work here now."

"Why would you do that?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm trying to earn something back."

Back? Why had she said that? She'd never owned a golden ball before.

"Oh…I hope it's worth it. My mom says not to trust Mr. Gold."

"Then why are you looking for him?"

"I'm looking for someone else, and I just need his help."

She shrugged. "Come back later and he might be here."

"Okay," Henry said, "Bye."

He left and she pulled the golden ball out of her pocket, running her thumb over the smooth texture. A few minutes later, Mr. Gold entered the shop and caught her staring at it. "Anything exciting happen today, dearie?"

"Not much other than the mayor's son came by looking for you."

"Oh, did he?"

"Yes. I guess I'll be going now."

"It's late. Why don't you stay for dinner?"

Her father wouldn't be home from the factory for a couple of hours, and she would have ended up eating a TV dinner instead of anything else. A meal with company did sound rather pleasant, and she nodded slowly. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Excellent. Do you like pasta?"

"Love it."

"Then I'll make some. You just have a seat and relax."

She did as he said, all the while keeping a firm grasp on her ball, and lost herself in reverie. She only came out of it when he handed her a bowl full of spaghetti and a glass of wine. "I'm not legal," she said.

"It'll be our little secret."

She kind of liked the idea of keeping secrets with Mr. Gold, and nodded. After her first sip, she discovered that he had great taste in wine and she eagerly continued to drink. They talked about the shop and the occasional gossip about someone in town, and she got the feeling he knew a lot of information about everybody, but he didn't tell her anything. She barely noticed when her glass was empty for the second time and her bowl as well.

"I guess I should be going."

"Until tomorrow, Miss Haruno."

"Please call me Sakura," she said.

"Very well then…Sakura."

She nodded and put the golden ball back with a heavy sadness in her heart. Shouldering her bag, she walked out of the door and toward home.

_Rumpelstiltskin ate all of her food, and most of the food that had been left on other's plates. It seemed as if he was a man starved of both affection and food, but she wouldn't give him the first. Lily remained cold toward him for the entire meal, hating the situation he had forced her into, and led him toward a guest room for the night._

_ "Oh no," he said, pushing the door closed, "You promised me I would get to sleep in _your _bed."_

_ "That's…No! I won't do it."_

_ "Shall I tell your father? Shall I take your precious ball away? You have no idea what power I hold, silly little girl. Do as you promised or suffer the consequences. I warned you, did I not? All magic comes with a price. Now pay yours."_

_ With a few tears she led him toward her bedroom, throwing the door open carelessly and pointing to a cozy chair in the corner. "You can sleep there."_

_ "I believe I'll sleep here," he said, jumping onto her bed and kicking off his muddy shoes onto her clean carpet. _

_ "But where shall I sleep?"_

_ "Right here," he replied, patting the spot next to him. _

_ Lily blushed a deep shade of red and turned away from him to grasp her nightgown. "Look away," she instructed._

_ He seemed to do so, and she turned away from him and slipped out of her petticoats and dress, but was caught on her corset. Usually she had a servant do this for her, but she was too embarrassed to ask them to come up and help her undress in front of the heinous Rumpelstiltskin. She felt a cool breath on her neck and gasped as she felt nimble fingers begin to undo the stays. _

_ "What are you doing?" she asked, wanting to beat him over the head with a rock._

_ "Assisting you, dearie. I am a gentleman after all."_

_ "You are nothing of the sort."_

_ Minutes later she held the fabric to her chest, the only thing separating her bare skin from the cool air and his gaze, and told him yet again to turn around. He did so, covering his eyes with his hands, and she hesitantly pulled off the fabric and put on her nightgown. She heard a chuckled behind her and turned around to see him smiling. "You looked!"_

_ "And I liked what I saw. Now princess, come to bed with me."_

Sakura was sitting behind the counter again, watching the clock tick by as she tossed the golden ball up and down. It was another thirty minutes before the shop would close and Mr. Gold would return. For some reason, she'd found herself missing him today. That was odd. He had to be at least twenty years older than her, but she found herself thinking in the back of her mind that he was actually attractive.

She jumped off of the stool and looked around for something to do. There were shelves of books toward the back and she headed in that direction for something to read. Her fingers skimmed over the spines of the novels before choosing a book of fairy tales. It had beautiful illustrations of all of the characters and she looked over the stories, until settling on Snow White.

An hour later she was broken from her concentration by the ringing of the bell. Sakura looked up to see Mr. Gold walking in and carrying a box of new additions for the shop. She set the book down and took the box from him and put it down on the counter. It looked like most of the new things weren't too special, although unique. There was a silver locket, a comb that looked to be made of seashell, a red velvet cloak, and an assortment of other items.

"Put that in my office would you, dearie?" he asked.

Sakura did as he asked and returned back out to see him playing with her golden ball. Something in her heart lurched and she almost snatched it from him. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"That's quite all right. Sometimes we get rather protective of the things we love."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Protective of the things you love?" she asked.

"I was," he replied, his face darkening. Sakura regretted asking the question. She tried to focus his attention on other things.

"I enjoyed last night."

"As did I. Would you care to stay for a glass of wine?"

"I'd love some. You've got a great selection."

"Thank you," he said, going into the back and emerging with two glasses and a bottle of wine. He poured it and they drank. It was different from the night before, a heavier sort, and she relaxed into the chair she was sitting on. Mr. Gold didn't seem to be affected by the alcohol, and he poured her another without asking. They drank and talked about intellectual things. She expressed her desire to be a nurse, and he showed her a collection of old medical texts. It was after her third glass that things began to grow hazy. She thought she'd heard the clock chime twelve, and tried to stand.

"I should go," she slurred.

"Why don't you stay?"

"I should go."

"Stay," he murmured, and she closed her eyes.

_Princess Lily wasn't sure of what to do. It was improper to get into bed with someone whom she wasn't married or related to—and an evil magician at that!—but she swallowed her pride and pulled back the blankets. The sheets were cool against her skin, obviously not warmed by the maids ahead of time. They were probably all gossiping about the princess taking Rumpelstiltskin to bed. They were probably laughing at her. She felt a fool._

_ Quickly dousing the candle and extinguishing the only light besides the moon in her room, Lily turned onto her side and tried to get as far away from Rumpelstiltskin as she could. She had always thought her bed to be big, but now it felt tiny. She could hear him breathing, feel the shifting of his body as he turned over, practically taste him on the air, and she hated it. Still, she eventually managed to calm herself down enough to fall into a light and unpleasant sleep._

_ She wasn't sure how much later it was, but she felt something touching her. At first, she'd enjoyed the touch, but when she opened her eyes and saw who was touching her she opened her mouth to scream. A hand covered it before she could, and she struggled as she came to realize what was happening. Rumpelstiltskin gave a wave of his hand and ribbons tied her to the bed posts, holding her tightly. Her mind rushed, trying to come up with excuses or ways out, and when he removed his hand from her mouth she began to speak, "Please don't—"_

_ Another wave of his hand a ribbon covered her mouth completely. Wide-eyed with tears beading at the corners, she pulled at the restraints and tried to scream through the cloth. Nothing came of it, and it only appeared to make the beast on top of her smile. He began to undo the buttons of her nightgown, and she realized with abrupt realization what he was going to do to her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it! _

_ Or was there? _

_ Her eyes drifted toward the corner where her father's sword lay. It glinted in the moonlight, and she knew if she could get her hands on it she would be able to do something to prevent this. And she knew that crying wasn't going to change anything, and it was time to stop. Rumpelstiltskin seemed preoccupied with the many buttons of her nightgown, and she began to pull at the fabric around her wrist. It was long enough to bring to her gagged mouth, and she pulled and pulled eventually freeing the one arm. He was still rather focused on undressing her and she used that to her advantage. She freed her other arm and pulled the gag out of her mouth. _

_ Now what? She had freed her upper half, but her legs were still fastened to the bedposts. Rumpelstiltskin had almost reached the bottom of her nightgown, and she knew that if she tried to untie her legs he would notice and just restrain her again with magic. It wasn't fair! How was she supposed to fight off a man who could use magic with none of her own? _

_ The moment came when her nightgown was fully undone and she lay before him naked. It was a humiliating thing and she used her hands to cover her breasts. "Oh, someone got undone they did," he laughed, raising a hand to summon more restraints._

_ "Wait!" she cried. "Please…I want to…I'm willing."_

_ He seemed surprised by her change in attitude, but laughed and clapped his hands. The ties at her feet came undone and she was able to move again. The problem remained that the beast was still on top of her. He began to kiss his way up her body and she felt bile rise in her throat. She had to do something! Her mind flew away as instincts took over and with a powerful kick, she pushed him off of the bed and away from her. Jumping up, she ran to the sword and grasped it tightly in her hands._

_ Rumpelstiltskin stood before her, still smiling. "What are you going to do with that, dearie?"_

_ "Don't come any closer!"_

_ "You can't hurt me. We have a deal."_

_ "The deal's off," she said, reaching for the nearby golden ball and throwing it at him. "Take it and go. I never want to see you again."_

_ He met her evenly in the eyes, his gaze heated and full of some emotion she didn't know, and he said in a calm tone, "You will one day, I promise you that lovely Lily, and I will have you whether you know it or not."_

_ "Go."_

_ He turned on his heel and left. Princess Lily slid down the wall, the sword clattering to the ground, and wept. The cost of her freedom, her purity, had come at a high price. But she knew that her mother would've been proud and that was all that mattered—not some silly golden ball._

Sakura Haruno's head was pounding. All the sounds around her echoed and reverberated within her skull and she groaned. She clenched her eyes shut because the light was too bright and she didn't want to open them, but she did once she realized something. She was naked.

The light hurt and so did moving, but she looked down at the sight of her body wrapped in golden silk sheets. What had she done? Where was she? Her heart pounded in rhythm with her head, and she tried to stand up. Her legs crumpled beneath her. They were sore. In fact, her entire body was sore: most noticeably her lips, breasts, and lower body. Had she been raped?

"Good morning," a familiar voice said, and she looked up in horror to see Mr. Gold standing there in his fine suit. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?"

"I think you know."

"This can't be—there's no way…"

"You consented."

"I couldn't have. I don't remember saying—"

"I believe you said the word 'yes' a great many times last night. You were the one who confessed your attraction to me."

"I did?" Sakura said, feeling that wasn't what she would have done. Her head hurt too much to question it though. "But…"

"Your contract is quite clear on the matter. I'll leave it for you to peruse over. I have some business to attend to over at Granny's."

"What contract?"

"The one you signed last night," he said, smiling and grabbing his cane. She could hear his footsteps down the stairs and the sound of the bell ringing as he left. She stood up, legs wobbling, and clasped the sheet to her body. There, on a nearby desk, laid an elegant sheet of parchment with fine script that looked like it had been written by a quill.

_**I, Sakura Lily Haruno, promise to serve Mr. Gold in any way he wishes in exchange for the golden ball…**_

* * *

**Rayne Says:** _I'm so used to doing notes I'll do it again._

1. This is based on "The Frog Prince" by the Grimm Brothers, which in fact does not contain a kiss. I took liberties as Once Upon a Time did with Cinderella and the other fairy tales.

2. The music she is listening to is Schubert's Piano Trio no. 2 in E flat major Op. 100, D. 929. II Andante con moto.

3. I tried to relate what happened in the magical world to the real world. Do you believe it worked?

4. Obviously the happy ending of her fairy tale was that she kept her purity, but the happy endings are gone from Storybrooke. As such... well you can guess what happened.

So please, check out KNOW THE PERILS, and review. Thank you for your continued support of this series of oneshots. I appreciate it very much.


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